It's Only the End of the World
Director: Xavier Dolan
Year Released: 2016
Rating: 1.0
Gay playwright Louis (Gaspard Ulliel) - dying of some sort of illness (I'm assuming HIV/AIDS?) - goes back to the family he left behind, including Mom (Nathalie Baye), little sis Suzanne (Léa Seydoux), brother Antoine (Vincent Cassel) and step-sister Catherine (Marion Cotillard), but the tension in the house is so great he never reveals anything to them. Dolan, while still a young filmmaker, hasn't fixed the whole "screaming-as-drama" problem he's had for a bit - he cast perpetually pissed Cassel to quickly lose his temper - and his lead is little more than a cipher who's mostly asked to look at his co-stars with 'intensity' (slow-motion is also thoroughly abused ... for "poetic effect"). There are some lovely quiet moments - especially with Cotillard's meek but sympathetic character - and I have faith in Dolan's abilities ... but he needs to work on shaping his scenes a little more.
