Analysis: "J'ai tué ma mère"

J'ai tué ma mère is a 2009 drama by Xavier Dolan. As its title ('I Killed My Mother') suggests, it deals with the tumultuous relationship between a mother and son. As I wish to explore a similar kind of relationship in my own film - the strained mother/daughter bond of Helen and Libby - I chose to look at this film for some inspiration. 

The director uses some interesting techniques to communicate the relationship that Hubert and Chantale share, and it is these elements that form the basis of the films stylistic approach: two shots are used to include both characters in the frame, and this is often done in a very stuctured and symmetrical nature. This type of frontal shot connotes confrontation and makes the audience feel uncomfortable, perhaps giving them an insight into how the characters are feeling in each other's presence. Dolan also pays careful attention to blocking in order to keep a substantial distance between the characters, representing the rift that has grown between them. This is a very effective technique, and also one that is very beautiful. I would love to experiment with recreating this kind of shot in my own film, though perhaps with less consistency than in J'ai tué ma mère, as I would also like to explore using wideshots of only one character at a time to emphasise their isolation. I feel these two techniques would go hand in hand.

An example of shot type, framing and blocking being used to convey distance between characters

Dolan also uses close-ups of Hubert's reactions to his mother. This emphasise and exaggerates the contempt he displays, as everything is much larger and by filling the screen with this, Dolan directs the entire attention of the viewer to Hubert's emotions. I love this effect as it is really successful and conveying how Hubert is feeling without using any dialogue, which is especially attractive as my film is quite dialogue-heavy. I would love to explore using close-ups of Libby in my film in a similar style, in order to communicate that she is an emotive young girl without having to use obvious dialogue. This technique will rely on high quality performance from actors and may require me to experiment with different directing styles in order for them to capture what it is that I want.

A close-up of Hubert giving his mother a disapproving look

Overall, I feel very inspired by this film. The subject matter of both films is very similar, and despite the plots being vastly different I feel that this allows the techniques Xavier Dolan uses to also be effective in my own film. I will definitely consider referencing Dolan's work to our cinematographer later in the project, as I feel this is a very good source of inspiration for our film.