the m0vie blog

Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Ronan Doyle and Phil Bagnall, The 250 is a (mostly) weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users.

This time, Xavier Dolan’s Mommy.

In a fictionalised 2015 Canada, widowed Diane “Die” Després finds herself forced to care for her young son Steve. Steve is a challenging child at the best of times, with his attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder leaving him prone to shocking mood swings. With the help of her neighbour Kyla, Die works desperately to strike a balance with Steve. However, whatever sense of equilibrium this dysfunctional family finds is destined to come crashing down around their ears.

At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Show notes:

• Recorded 22nd April 2020.
• Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, this episode was recorded remotely. We suspect, going forward that a lot of our episodes will be until the crisis resolves.
• Mommy at The Internet Movie Database.
• Follow Phil on Twitter.
• Read Phil’s reviews at Scannain.
• Phil interviews director Xavier Dolan and producer Nancy Grant about Mommy for Scannain, March 2015.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The Guardian about his career in films to that point, March 2015.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The Guardian about why he makes films, February 2017.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The New York Times about what drives him, April 2018.
• Xavier Dolan singles out his top ten films in The Criterion Collection, August 2010.
• Zack Sharf at IndieWire reports on Xavier Dolan naming IT as his favourite movie as the century, September 2017.
• Zack Sharf at IndieWire reports on the casting of Xavier Dolan in IT: Chapter Two, June 2018.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The New York Times about his relationship with Cannes, May 2019.
• Xavier Dolan talks to Screen Daily about return to Cannes after winning the Jury Prize for Mommy, May 2016.
• Stephen Holden reviews Tom at the Farm for The New York Times, Augut 2015.
• Ryan Lattanzio at IndieWire looks at the difficulties in distributing and releasing Tom at the Farm, August 2015.
• Sherilyn Connelly at The Village Voice discusses the shifting aspect ratio within Tom at the Farm, August 2015.
• Ryan Lattanzio at IndieWire looks at the complicated path that Death and Life of John F. Donovan took to American screens, November 2019.
• Mike D’Angelo reviews Death and Life of John F. Donovan for The A.V. Club, December 2019.
• Jessica Chastain interviews Xavier Dolan for Interview Magazine, January 2015.
• Kevin Jagernauth at IndieWire reports on the argument between Xavier Dolan and Netflix over the aspect ratio of Mommy, January 2016.
• A.O. Scott at The New York Times describes Mommy as a “cri de coeur from the selfie generation”, January 2015.
• Richard Brody at The New Yorker dismisses Mommy as “Dolan’s own pseudo-transgressive artistic tantrum”, January 2015.
• Scott Tobias at The Dissolve accuses Dolan of “inhaling the fragrance of his own artistry” with Mommy, January 2015.
• Jon Frosch at The Atlantic describes that year’s Cannes slate as “mediocre overall”, May 2014.
• Vanessa Thorpe at The Observer reports on critics’ disappointment with the selection at that year’s Cannes Film Festival, May 2014.
• Listen to the soundtrack to Mommy on Spotify, October 2014.
• Cassandra Szklarski reports on Xavier Dolan and Mommy sweeping the Canadian Film Awards for The Globe and Mail, March 2015.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The Toronto Sun about the international success of Mommy, October 2014.
• Daniel Patiño at Versus Media writes about the central role of mothers in the work of Xavier Dolan, July 2017.
• Kyle Turner at IndieWire reports on the importance of mothers within the work of Xavier Dolan, June 2014.
• Screenwriter Daniel Waters explains the mechanics of “the three seashells” to Den of Geek, October 2019.
• Sandra Bullock explains how “the three seashells” work to MTV, October 2013.
• “College Boy” by Indochine, February 2012.
• The National Post profiles the generational clash between Xavier Dolan and Jean-Luc Godard, September 2014.
• Xavier Dolan talks to The Hollywood Reporter about why he shot Mommy in the distinctive 1:1 aspect ration, January 2015.
• Joe Marine at No Film School on the use of aspect ratio in Mommy, May 2014.
• 99% Invisible looks at the history of packaging CDs in longboxes, July 2014.
• Bill DeMain at Mental Floss looks at why so American music media favoured the longbox, July 2012.
• Follow The 250 on Twitter.
• Subscribe to The 250 on iTunes.
• Subscribe to The 250 on Stitcher.
• Listen to The 250 on Soundcloud.
• Listen to The 250 on Spotify.

Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: Canada, mommy, phil bagnall, ronan doyle, The 250, xavier dolan |