MovieChat Forums > Mommy (2014) Discussion > Overrated !!

Overrated !!

posted 10 years ago by cim-emirhan
10 replies | jump to latest

Screenplay, music and use of camera were quite horrible. I mean, there are lots of holes in the plot. How can Steve buy all groceries and the necklace without stealing them? The court problem? The only lawyer they knew dumped them, so what happened afterwards? What is the outcomes of the court? Why in all of a sudden did Diane decide to put his son in an asylum again? How can a total stranger, i mean the neighbor, become a part of your family that quick, while neglecting her husband and child? Now, there comes the childish usage of camera. Movie had focusing and low light problems and some scenes weren't framed properly. Framing, lightening and focusing are the basics of cinematography. You don't even know the basics and use 1:1 aspect ratio. This is unacceptable. I mean who are you? Just a kid and trying to break the cinema's simple rules. This is disrespectful. Musics? If good songs don't fit in to your story then they are nothing but only good songs that distact me from the movie. I think this process should work vice versa. Apart from good acting, there is nothing in it to see.

[–] scott-mcelrea 10 years ago

I agree with all your points except one: the acting. I was taken aback by the ham acting, especially from the actress playing the mother ('cabotinage' would say the French--and they do--about this film.)

I would add to your list:

Characters are inconsistent caricatures. What 16 years old boy, a delinquent, would listen to--let alone know by heart!--a Céline Dion (ultra-cheesy) song?? And sing it with their mother?!? More: What 16 years old delinquent boy would know an Andrea Bocelli (equally cheesy) song? In Italian?? And sing it in a pub?! Seriously?

The use of the camera was atrocious. But then Dolan declared he would not watch any classic movie, by any master of the cinema (he mentions Ingmar Bergman, from all people, the best of the best...), as he has his own vision. This is outrageous to the point it makes one wonder how can someone be so stupid as to state it!

Our little boy takes himself very seriously. He thinks he is a Mozart, no less.

And all that hype...

[–] dead-funk 10 years ago

In regards to why Steve knew the Bocelli and Celine Dion songs, as Die mentions in the scene while Celine Dion plays, the songs on that CD are from a mixed CD made by Steve's father, that they played during a roadtrip to California years ago. So they probably listened to those songs a lot when they went on the roadtrip. Also, when Steve first came home at the beginning of the film, one of the first things he did was look through the box in his mother's room and found that CD. Obviously it was special to him. The songs probably remind him of better times, when his dad was alive and they were having a great time as a family.

[–] scott-mcelrea 10 years ago

Having listened to those songs does not necessarily mean that he likes them so much that he sings along with his mother and in a pub respectively. He is supposed to be a tough one. A delinquent. One who has no past and no future. A teenager who doesn't give a damn that some other fellow got burnt in a fire he set and is completely responsible of. So him: to like and sing along with the cheesiest of the cheesiest songs ever?!? Talk about total inconsistency!

[–] saschatuchardt 10 years ago

It may seem inconsistent if you want the characters to be one-dimensional archetypes. Steve is ill, causing his anger issues etc. He loves his mother, though. The mixtape reminds him of his father (who was important to him as well,w hich is why one of the first things he does after coming home is looking for a photo of him).

People who listen to a song frequently tend to remember the lyrics. In the Pub he is jealous and wants his mothers attention so he sings the "cheesiest of the cheesiest songs ever" always trying to catch her gaze. What would you have wwanted him to do? Rap "Candy Shop"? How would that fit with the narrative?

Die decieds to send him back to an asylum because he tried to kill himself. I don't see how it is difficult to catch that, unless you don't really want to.

Also, movies don't need to spoon you every little piece of information. We don't really know how Steve paid for the stuff from the grocery. Did he steal it? Maybe. It does not really matter. What matters is that the confrontation with his mother (who he wanted to make happy) causes him to lose it.

The movie is fantastic. It is not for everybody, obviously, because it is quite unconventional in many aspects. But let me tell you that you can watch any movie and find "plotholes".

[–] patrick_bateman_90056 10 years ago

It being unconventional has nothing to do with why a person may or may not like "Mommy".

[–] nanoux03 9 years ago

Yes, but it might say something about the type of person who doesn't like it. i.e. I wouldn't show it to my oncle (who's 80, deeply set in his conservative and homophobic ways) for instance, haha.

[–] scott-mcelrea 8 years ago

And it sais a lot about someone who adores it to the point they insult those who don't like it.

No, I'm not going to play Dr. Freud with you, haha!

[–] a-movie-fan 9 years ago

My take on this particular part is quite different.

I saw this as a very clever way of showing that Steve is a very damaged kid who does remember things that mean something to him, that this was perhaps his only way of showing it.

For the same reason you say he doesn't give a damn about a kid getting burned, I think he doesn't give a damn about who hears him sing a song his dad put in a compilation for him of their fun holidays together (he was 'normal' then), before he died.

I thought the subtle way of showing us this was like the calm before, in or Steve's case, in the middle of a storm!

That's the beauty of movies... we quite often see them in different perspectives and that makes for good discussions. If I want to talk about a movie I just watched, then I know it made an impact, positively or negatively, it matters not.

An astounding piece of cinema, with performances of the highest quality. It's no wonder Jane Campion hugged Anne Dorval (Diane 'Die'), at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival (where Mommy debuted and Campion was jury President), "See you at the Oscars"!

Rated 9/10 ~ http://tinyurl.com/amoviefan-imdb-9s
Rated 10/10 ~ http://tinyurl.com/amoviefan-imdb-10s
Watched 6,400+ ~ http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000421957/

**ALL Movies Watched Beginning to End ~~ 1,000's more to be ADDED**

[–] rubirub 9 years ago

I think it is a great movie. Is it overrated? I don't know...

But screenplay music and use of camera are that way on purpose. Come on! This is not a commercial flick!

[–] overactive-bladder 8 years ago

xavier dolan said in an interview that steve stole the necklace and groceries

die "settled" the lawsuit by putting her son in an institution specialized. so they most likely blamed his craziness on everything.

the neighbour was in deep depression. she took a liking to a kid who was going through some of the symptoms she was going through herself. die and steve were new to her and they treated her nice. like an escape of her life and she was craving that window of escape. have you never met someone and just kept hanging out a day after meeting them?

donno why you say it's "disrespectful" to use an innovative camera size??? you seem to come from a place of deep hate or even jealousy, just by reading your sentence "who are you? Just a kid and trying to break the cinema's simple rules". is the fact that this young man is "making it" making you envious?

sorry but you gotta try a bit harder to find things to unload your rage.