Our take
What starts as an unsettling drama quickly morphs into a searing psychological thriller. The film, based on a play of the same title, tells the story of Tom, a young man who while attending his boyfriend’s funeral, stays with the grieving family unaware of his relationship with their son. During his stay, Tom becomes subject to the violent whims of his boyfriend’s brother.
The intense psychosexual dynamic that develops becomes a piercing examination of homophobia, masculinity, and violence. Dolan’s expert direction keeps a level of intensity that grips and never let’s go until the gorgeous closing sequence. At times brutal and cruel, Tom at the Farm may be a tough watch, but its portrait of simmering regressive violence speaks vividly and directly to our current moment.
What it won
Venice
1 win
The story
A young man travels to an isolated farm for his lover's funeral where he's quickly drawn into a twisted, sexually charged game by his lover's aggressive brother.
Elsewhere
"The French-Canadian upstart, Xavier Dolan, comes of age with this blistering psychosexual fable which doffs a cap to Hitchcock."
— Sophie Monks Kaufman
"Grief, lies and webs of deceit are the flesh-eating monsters. The film exudes a living poetry.... Dolan has the ability to render any banal activity ominous."
— Emily Buder
The details
Streaming arrival
yes