User Reviews

I remain dubious and hungry: the movie globally lacks of achievement and seems unfinished.

Pros: the sensitivity of Xavier Dolan, the interpretation of the actors, the music, the photography, ...

Cons (only one actually, but a crippling one): the hubbub! I have the feeling that Xavier Dolan tries to artificially fill the relative emptiness of the script dealing with an epistolary relationship modestly reduced to a secret garden with a kaleidoscopic narrative, fuzzily alternating between Rupert and John on the one hand, the present and the past on the other hand.

To be watched again in a decade or two, with another look.

Dolan's movie creaks and groans and ultimately fizzles under the weight of it's own enormous ambition. And, to be fair, it's beautifully directed. Dolan has great visual stye, invests scenes with great energy and emotion, and gets wonderful performances from a very impressive cast. You can see why Sarandon and Bates and Portman would have placed their faith in him. Unfortunately, the script is too slight to withstand the epic treatment it's given, and the movie runs out of steam before even the halfway mark. It's at least 20 minutes, probably 30 minutes too long. But even a good hard edit wouldn't have saved it. Dolan is certainly a director to watch, but he's going to need better material than this.

'The Death & Life of John F. Donovan' is a mess - even if it's an intriguing one. The English-language debut of Canadian director Xavier Dolan ambitiously tackles themes of fame, privacy, sexuality, growing up, and, of course, mothers and sons but never really digs too deep beneath the surface of the very complicated issues it takes on. And from Green Day's 'Jesus of Suburbia' to Florence + The Machine's 'Stand by Me' and Lifehouse's 'Hanging by a Moment,' Dolan is at his worst when he allows his cringe-worthy choice of music to substitute for a deeper effort to underline his characters' emotional states. Still, at the very least, 'The Death & Life of John F. Donovan' is never boring with the big brassy performances from the movie's generally strong casts.

This film tells quite a complex story about a man who recalls his correspondence with an actor when he was a child. The story is mostly about the actor, and it's quite sad. The number of famous faces is pretty amazing as well. It can do with a quicker pace, but overall it's ok to watch.

Such an interesting film. This piece by Dolan examines celebrity, need desire, and the overwhelming struggle to be true to ones own self.

Is it overly long? Does it rely on too much well known pop music? Despite this this film will be known as a gem years from now I predict.

"The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" has Xavier Dolan crossing frontiers to finally reach American cinema after a decade of excellent exposure in previous films in Canada such as "I Killed My Mother", "Mommy" and "Tom at the Farm". All substantial work, great visuals, well acted by the cast; at times he gave us profound and meaningful film filled of life and reality but other times they were just masturbatory fantasies of dreamy dull realities (and even that, he accomplished the goal of not making a bad film over the years). However, with this new venture he couldn't get me all that satisfied. It was hard to swallow, to see something beyond than having a stellar cast but no depth to give them at almost any given moment. Of all of his works, this was Dolan's most disappointing film (as of now) and it breaks my heart to say this because he's truly gifted in everything he does. This "Donovan" thing shows he can miss the mark, deliver little and makes us thinking not much far ahead. It's not a bad film, it just tastes sour after its conclusion. Goes down as my least favorite film of his but manageable nonetheless.

A rather unusual premise conquers the viewer which is the broken barriers from two distant realities: the one lived by major TV star John F. Donovan (Kit Harington) and a young kid, a future actor (Jacob Tremblay) by exchanging letters over a period of time they were both facing hardships in their lives. When the famous guy dies, the grown kid (Ben Schnetzer) publishes about a book about the importance those letters had in both man's lives, and he's the one who chronicles their life together yet separated to a clueless reporter (Thandie Newton) who is forced to make an interview with the writer. Through flashbacks we get to see what really happened to Donovan before his tragic death, a sad about growth, love lost, identity issues, the loss of someone who had to live a life of lies instead of presenting himself who he really was in order to have a career. Paralel to that, there's the story of the excited kid whose best company is an actor living far away from him while he's in London, living with his mother (Natalie Portman), who abandoned the husband to secure a new life for the duo but the kid only faces rejection and hurt by his schoolmates, and doesn't deal all too good with the mother. His only solace is to write letters to his favorite actor from his favorite TV show who actually replies to them. All very intriguing and most viewers will probably guess that there's something fishy on the way, and the kid might be a key figure in the actor's demise.

Why going forward with this? Dolan doesn't sugarcoat America's industry of money and fame - success doesn't really open doors to you when you're out of the closet (be aware of the time the story takes place, a decade ago, so it rings true). The cast is great, with some off balance performances here and there (Kit was a good surprise for me); Gambon steals the show with one scene only; Dolan breaks the norm and the form of his usual works - goodbye slow-mo scenes (I like them but they were becoming quite tiring) As for the message...was it worth it? Was it needed to be said? As for our times it tells us it's relevant to understand how some prolific careers can be destroyed over what the public perceives from an artist but on the other hand the film, while almost reaching an explosive and realistic breaking point (the letter exchanges with the boy), it falters when the main concern by JFD is to get outed to the public. In our times? In our days? Does it matter, really? If set in the 1950's I would buy such scenario with gusto and completely understand it. It happens in our current era, some places but I'd only be fully immersed on a similar scenario had the director putting the setting into Hollywood's Golden Era. What he captures the best and I loved was the connection about two lonely souls living in world aparts. We're in a current shortage of heroes in this world and when you get the kind of thing the actor and the kid have with simple words conveying plenty of emotions, to the point where only one knows the other through the fake reality of a TV screen, to be able to read between the lines and say "I identify", it's truly brilliant.

Why not going (or maybe feel too annoyed while trying to enjoy the experience?): Mixed, sour feelings about this one cos we all know XD can do better than this. Again, he's too self-absorbed in with an overdone routine of gay characters and their inner struggle vs. the outside world. The gimmick of 'we hate our mothers, or we just can't stand their world and neurosis around us' is overdone in his works. Gotta grow up. Tells us something we don't know, or we hardly ever see - maybe, live and experience life a little longer because I'm becoming tired of stories about inner conflict and easy solutions (in the end, there's a relationship being formed. Love happens or conquers all). Tell about us the experience of a life together and then the events that lead to a break-up. His LGBT films aren't dealing with this issue; and trust me, we do need that kind of different view not because cinema is bringing lots of happy stories, cute couples without problems except coming out or infidelities here and there; or even struggle of identities. Since he's a focused artist that can touches strong themes with power, sensibility and artistic view, he must give us something that an Fassbinder would be proud of.

I wonder why not place the whole setting in Canada, Dolan's homeland? This American debut seemed to have too high of a shooting but aimed for too low. The whole kind thing of being a young actor and why the kid wants America so much rather than London, awkward gimmick by the way since it just doesn't happen is it a note to Dolan himself to show why he's not that known outisde the arthouse world? I wonder...But there were sequences were I just couldn't take it: the corny 'Stand By Me' sequence forces too much to get a cry from me; the editing was problematic with the years transition; and the final sequence was enraging because Hollywood fairy-tales can destroy a whole argument. Had it been a wiser script, Dolan and Jacob Tierney should've excised the whole thing between Newton and Schnetzer, so we could have a more comprehensive, cohese, challenging story that doesn't end up explaining too much about itself. Not only it takes a great deal of the film but their moments were heavily critical both from their characters but also the stiff performances from both. Why such a cynical unprepared reporter would follow a man who is apparently climbing on the wings of a dead actor to make up his own fame?

Not the most effervescent thumbs up I can give to it, but there you have it. Dolan makes a fine film that certainly will its audience and to those who haven't heard of it before this movie, they'll sure hear a lot more from him (future works and past work as well). Don't wait for him to get a Palme D'or to discover him, he has plenty of Grand Prizes from Cannes jury already, impressive collection of awards for someone of his age. 7/10

It's a shame that "The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan" isn't as good as it should be. A messy, mismatched, and overly long film.

In this drama, years after the death of a TV star, a young man reminisces the written correspondence he shared with the famous actor, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.

As much as writer/director Xavier Dolan's latest effort isn't really confusing, it kind of feels like it is. After you're done watching "The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan" you feel as if you've spent hours and hours watching this film and it goes nowhere. The film does feature some good performances from the all-star cast but in the end the story is what is at fault here. The film does have a powerful moment which features the song "Hanging By A Moment" by Lifehouse; you wish "The Death And Life Of John F. Donavon" was that great throughout. It could've been a better drama but Dolan's film is just a disappointment.

If you think the movie failed you probably didn't understand the true meaning. It is a movie about soul searching and life with depression. It is about how life with depression requires you to wear a mask because of the expectations of those around you, it's about the lack of intimacy and being truly and personally open with others even those closest to you, it's about trying to live your life based on what you think others expect of you and think you deserve. It is a movie about finding one person who you can truly talk to because you connect and you feel they don't judge you. It's a movie about life and figuring out how to let yourself be happy. Beautifully done movie with great depth yet only some will truly understand it on a personal level.

I was really looking forward to this film. The trailer was great, and I love these actors, but Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Jacob Trembley, Kathy Bates, and Michael Gambon...yes, even he made a cameo, were WASTED. The rhetoric of this film-the messages it wanted to convey-were also lost. I could tell immediately upon hearing "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, about 5 min in, that this was going to be screwed up. The director, who wrote and produced this, has apparently never heard a real conversation. The dialogue was forced and unnatural. The story was told through skimming the surface of concepts and unnecessary 5 min bouts of music without character dialogue or development. The characters are almost an afterthought, and clearly directed in an off/unnatural way.

Most of the film seemed a group of scenes from different films-the style was inconsistent. The score was awful. The music didn't fit. There were WAY too many things being tackled, leaving no time to develop any of them. And the editing was terrible. No fluidity or logical order of interweaving the interview and the events.

The film made me cry, and I appreciated the purpose of it. But I'm afraid such an important message was washed away by the writing and directing. I found out after I watched it that Jessica Chastain was cast, filmed as a main character, and then cut completely. Maybe cutting an entire main character and the impact she had on the story leant to the mess, but it also seems like a rookie/film school mistake to make, in the first place. And this director is not new.

I'm really disappointed and annoyed.

This may be the single worst film I have ever seen. I'm not talking about films that are meant to be bad or low budget garbage with unknown amateur actors, but films that are meant to be earnest and well intentioned, with a good cast.

Boring, pretentious, and pointless cannot even begin to describe how bad this movie is. I started looking at my watch 20 minutes in wondering how much longer I would have to sit through this. I have never walked out of a film in my life but this made me come close. I stayed just just out of spite, wondering if somehow it would come together in the end and redeem itself. But it wasn't meant to be. My friend who dragged me to the screening at TIFF apologized and paid for an expensive dinner afterwards in penance.

Susan Sarandon as Kit's mother and Kathy Bates as his manager gave good performances in their limited screen time and any time they appeared on screen was the only time the movie showed any life at all. Natalie Portman's wig gave a better performance than she did. Kit Harrington seemed to sleepwalk through his role. And Jacob Tremblay, so good in his debut with Brie Larson in "Room", seems to be regressing as an actor as he grows older, unless it was the director who told him to overact as much as possible.

This has definite potential to be a midnight cult "so bad its hilarious" movie in the vein of Tommy Wiseau's "The Room".

You know what? If you don't like Xavier Dolan and/or don't appreciate his work, please do not watch this movie; and, above all, don't do reviews.

After watching this movie, I surfed the net - moved only by curiosity -to look for reviews. And, what I mostly found, even from the most qualified and acclaimed reviewers, is a sort of standardized analysis, gravitating around usual Dolan's logos (as unfortunately they use to say): Dolan always talks about his himself, mothers, homosexuality.

So what? Even if these items seem to be recurring in his works, couldn't they be considered as tools, keys he uses for opening the door of his inner world? Everybody use tools, why Dolan should not be allowed to use his? Why don't start from different angles in analyzing what flows before our eyes ?

If we look at things always in the same way, with the corrective lenses of prejudgement, we lose the freedom of observing things the way they are/could be, because we look at them only in the way we would like them to be.

This movie has a lot to say not only about the director himself- of course it does, he's one of the writers- (by the way, the direction is great and beautifully crafted, and emphasizes events and emotions; Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon and the kid, Jacob Tremblay, offer beautiful acting performances) - but also it tells a lot about ourselves, humans beings always looking for something to relieve our mal de vivre; always looking for others approval, always deeply involved in an unbalanced balance between joy and despere. Yes, mothers, gays, and children too -people - in a carousel of feelings and emotions.

I stop here. There are many things this movie talks about, many clues to investigate, many paths to follow: I leave you, sensitive people, the pleasure of discovery.

Weak, too slow, acting is a mess with almost no story line. It could have been better much better. The movie kills itself in almost half an hour.

Something went very bad with this movie I guess is not good taking out one of the main characters like jessica chastain out of the movie in the last minute.It is an interesting story but is so messy and the bad acting of main actor making it so plain and tasteless.After seeing the rest of Dolan's movie I think this is the worst by far.

It's not because you hire a whole bunch of good and well-known actors that the movie will automatically be good ! Here's another example of what shouldn't be done in cinematography. The movie is probably some kind of egocentric autobiographical kinda fantasy of an over the top life that oneself has, living... and need to show off and express the fact that he somehow made it and would probably one day would want to end ,,, like " hey I am special, pay more attention to me"! ... portraying a confuse grown man with a child's dream of meeting a ''hero'' ... again fantasist. Poor popular once talented artists kinda crap sort things ... the casting is interesting, again more like a fantasy from the real protagonist ... leading actors, of course, were amazing, but this isn't enough. Could have been a good book to read, but not to watch. By all means. One hour and forty minutes too much.

I never even knew this film existed until this evening when I saw that it was available to stream. I'm quite shocked (in a good way) how well Kit Harrington acted in this. I had been worried that he wouldn't be able to leave Jon Snow behind and this movie proves that he has! Exceptional cast and fantastic music! Did it drag a bit at the end? Yes, but it's definitely a movie I would recommend

First of all my review doesn't contain any spoilers .

What is wrong with you people , how can you hate on this powerful movie with the intelligant director xavier dolan and the famous and brilliant actors such as a kit harrington and natalie portman .

The is a must watch movie even though it deserves more than 7 but i gave it 7 because of some reasons .

I don't blame xavier dolan for stopping the work of making more films , he made a great movies such as a this with great actress and actors but it gets lower rating than some bad movies that are nonsense and it doesn't get the popularity it deserves .

When I finished this movie I thought I had been pranked. I thought the director and actors seriously set out to make the most hilariously awful movie ever. It worked in that way as a joke and I really enjoyed it. After doing some research I'm now of the impression that this movie was actually trying to be serious. If that's the case then this is terrible. But if you go in with the mindset that it's a comedy you will laugh hysterically the entire run time.

I had been wanted to watch this and then read the reviews and thought I wouldn't bother. I only ended up putting this movie on as I'd seen everything else and couldn't sleep. Did I watch the same movie as the people who hated it? I understand each to their own but for me the acting was great and the story would have resonated with so many different people on many levels. A rare script to have so many great actors in it so they obviously saw the wow factor.

The acting was good and the music was good, but there was something missing for me. I kept getting the impression that I was supposed to be feeling something, but it just never managed to touch my emotions. There were a few too many cliches perhaps. I also never really felt the connection between the two main characters, we never got to see who Rupert was to Donovan, all the scenes with Donovan pretty much ignored Rupert. Even showing him writing those letters, or what had happened just before he wrote them to prompt the decision to write, or showing him receiving letters from Rupert, would've given me something more to feel about who Donovan was and what this relationship meant to him, but it was completely absent, whereas we got to see and understand Rupert a bit more through the frame of this strange friendship. For a movie centred around this relationship, it felt very lacking that we never see John's investment in it or even a hint of his reasons for engaging in it. Maybe that was a choice and there was a reason for it, but for me personally it was really a hole in the movie that made it difficult for me to be moved, despite seeing that I was supposed to be moved.

Dolan beautifully creates an incredibly personal & poignant, hopeful & contemplative movie which in its very essence captures the complexities of the normalcy of people's lives, regardless of their remarkablility, status or situation, illustrating how our mistakes can often act as a catalyst to inspire future generations to unburden themselves of the same insecurities. It's about authenticity, honesty, dignity & perseverance in the face of oppression, additionally acting as a wider criticism regarding the intolerance & prejudice present within the wider film industry.

This is a film which is unafraid to ask a LOT of questions & equally, is also bold enough to answer them with an impressive amount of potential original & refreshing statements - so I won't even speculate about all the possible discussions to be had as this review would surely transpire in to a passionately verbose theological seminar.

Undoubtedly, the pacing of the film is inconsistent & the story is messy but this merely reflects the untidiness of events as they unfold; things aren't pristine, nothing's perfect & instead of chasing the concept of faultlessnes, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan revels in its imperfections: the unapologetically campy cheesiness & the overly sentimental ponderous philosophical interactions. None hindered the viewing experience as it's so joyously confident & daring.

Wasn't expecting this downfall for Dollan, hiring a bunch of famous actors and doing a cliche movie about the rock star life of an american actor and his internal struggle with life is just to much hollywood for me. I really don't undertsand the good critics on this movie. I just wanted it to end, made me cringe.

I get that people like Kit Harrington because of his character in GOT and the charming fact hat he married that ginger in real life. But he can NOT act his way out of a paper bag (and that is rare among British actors).

No wonder Jessica Chastain got out of this clunker. Good for her

Dolan's worst movie I can say that easily ; because i'm huge fan of xavier's whole movies ! I wish he didn't make this movie at all ! Tom at the farm also kind of drama but at least we have something inside of it for us as an audience . So I think you shouldn't waste your time with this movie as I did . I'm sorry for my precious lost time.