Our take
This is a gorgeous French-Canadian movie with out-of-this-world sound work.
Laurence is deeply in love with his girlfriend, Fred. On his birthday, he announces to her that he wants to restart his life as a woman, having always hated his male body. Fred doesn’t know how to take the news: “everything I love about you is everything you hate about yourself”.
Laurence Anyways is about how their romance continues after this revelation. There are so many reasons to watch this movie: the story, the acting, the cinematography; but trust me, the soundtrack alone is reason enough.
What it won
Cannes
1 win · 2 noms
César Awards
1 nom
The story
The story of an impossible love between a woman named Fred and a transgender woman named Laurence who reveals her inner desire to become her true self.
Elsewhere
"Poupaud's quiet moments convey a lofty, poignant introspection, and Clment erupts with grand, if scattershot, furies."
— Richard Brody
"Laurence Anyways, Xavier Dolan's third film, acknowledges the messiness of transgendered life, and the sizeable gaps between tolerance, acceptance, and actually going to bed with someone."
— Violet Lucca
The details
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
While not terrible the movie is too long and is somewhat anticlimatic. I personally found Lawrence to be annoying at the end given that his transformation ended up not being as radical as the movie had set it up to be by modern standards. I much preferred Mommy and I killed my mother!
What a beautiful movie. Took a but too long to end. Other than that, well executed all around.