Laurence Anyways

Actually, Laurence (Melvil Poupaud) and his girlfriend Fred (Suzanne Clément) have a near perfect relationship. They love each other dearly and enjoy their rather non-conformist lifestyle. But the day comes when Laurence has to admit to himself that he is living a lie. He feels trapped in the wrong body and wants to live as a woman from now on. His feelings for Fred have not changed, he wants her to continue to be in his life. And Fred also still loves her Laurence, but she doesn't know if this love will be strong enough to survive this drastic change. More and more often, the everyday life of the two is now dominated by prejudice, hostility and quarrels. The chasm between Laurence and Fred grows ever wider, but the bond that exists between them just won't break.

With his third feature Laurence Anyways, French-Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan solidifies his reputation as one of the most interesting representatives of young independent cinema. After I Killed My Mother and Heartbreaker, this is Dolan's most mature film as a storyteller to date. As a director, he overreaches a bit here and there, losing himself a little too much in his visual language, which comes at the expense of the pace and ultimately the intensity of the production. The story, which could have been told in 2 hours without any significant loss of quality, loses its power towards the end. For while the viewer has long since understood what Dolan is getting at, the young filmmaker repeatedly feels the urge to underpin this with scenes that are pretty to look at but rather unnecessary from a dramaturgical point of view.

This is a shame in that the story, which spans an entire decade - the 1990s - is told with great sensitivity as well as a soothing mix of drama, humour and a dash of completely cliché-free romance. With very engaging, artful imagery and accompanied by a well-chosen soundtrack, Dolan builds up his characters and their relationship with each other, only to expose them to very drastic and difficult changes. Laurence is not the only one on a quest to find himself, his identity and his own personal happiness. Fred, who has actually been incredibly comfortable in her little world with Laurence, is also forced by his drastically changed lifestyle to question whether she has actually found her place in life, her path to happiness yet.

Melvil Poupaud and Suzanne Clément deliver truly great performances. There is a very special chemistry between them that makes it believable that there is a love between Laurence and Fred that ultimately leads to the two being unable to be with each other, but also unable to be without each other. It's a love whose intensity leads to extreme happiness, but just as much to deep pain that Laurence and Fred must go through over the years. It's rousing, stirring, amusing and sad, and somehow feels very true to life despite its occasionally very artificial production.

With a little better polished timing and tighter narrative structure, Laurence Anyways could have been quite a great arthouse gem. As it is, however, it's still good enough to be an absolutely watchable drama for lovers of international arthouse cinema, with a strong story carried by two strong leads. Despite its overlength and minor dramaturgical weaknesses, a thoroughly positive overall impression remains in the end. A bit exhausting, but still: worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp