Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker, actor and costume designer. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2 ...

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

Suzanne Clément Suzanne Clément (born 12 May 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in Xavier Dolan's arthouse films ''I Killed My Mother'' (2009), '' Laurence Anyways'' (2012), and '' Mommy'' (2014). With Emilie DeQuenne, she shared the Un Ce ...

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

1st Canadian Screen Awards The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012.Best Motion Picture, Best Direction for Dolan, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Poupaud,

Best Actress in a Leading Role The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. ...

for Clément, and Best Screenplay for Dolan.

Plot

The film begins by introducing 35-year old Laurence Alia (

Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupaud, who was a well-kn ...

), an award-winning novelist and literature teacher in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Quebec. Laurence is very much in love with her girlfriend, the fiery and passionate Frédérique - "Fred" - Bellair (

Suzanne Clément Suzanne Clément (born 12 May 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in Xavier Dolan's arthouse films ''I Killed My Mother'' (2009), '' Laurence Anyways'' (2012), and '' Mommy'' (2014). With Emilie DeQuenne, she shared the Un Ce ...

). On the day of Fred's birthday, Laurence reveals to Fred her biggest secret; she has felt for her entire life that she was born in the wrong body and says that she has been living a lie for so many years. She wishes to rectify the situation and restart her life as a woman. Fred accuses her of being gay and takes the news very hard. They separate for a short time, but Fred arrives at the conclusion, much to the chagrin of her mother and sister, that she must be there for Laurence. Their romance resumes and Fred becomes Laurence's biggest supporter. Fred teaches Laurence how to do her own makeup and buys her a wig. She urges Laurence to dress as her true self, in female clothing. Laurence shows up to work one day in a dress. All seemingly goes well until the school board fires her from her position at the school due to the negative reception of her transition. Fred, suffering from career disappointments and a surprise pregnancy that she quietly chooses to abort, falls into a state of depression and eventually leaves Laurence and moves away. Fred marries a man, Albert, and has a son named Leo. Five years later, Laurence, although living with and romantically engaged with Charlotte, is still deeply in love with Fred. She stalks her regularly, often driving and parking outside of her house in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

. After publishing her book of poems, she sends a copy to Fred, who decodes the poems' secret message meant for her. She contacts Laurence, and the two meet and run away to the Isle of Black. However, the romantic getaway turns sour and the two argue. Fred reveals she was pregnant when Laurence revealed her gender identity, and Fred had an abortion. Fred's husband learns her whereabouts from Charlotte and Fred's relationship and life with him is shattered. Laurence leaves Fred in the night and the two do not speak for several years. Whilst Laurence is being interviewed for her biography, the interviewer inquires about Fred, after having listened to the couple's story. Laurence admits that she recently reconnected with Fred, newly divorced, but their meeting did not go well. She tells the interviewer that she has chosen to age as a woman. The final scene shows the circumstances under which Fred and Laurence first met, on a commercial set, Laurence having been bet to talk to Fred.

Cast

*

Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupaud, who was a well-kn ...

as Laurence Alia *

Suzanne Clément Suzanne Clément (born 12 May 1969) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in Xavier Dolan's arthouse films ''I Killed My Mother'' (2009), '' Laurence Anyways'' (2012), and '' Mommy'' (2014). With Emilie DeQuenne, she shared the Un Ce ...

as Frédérique "Fred" Bellair *

Nathalie Baye Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (born 6 July 1948) is a French film, television and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for '' Every Man for Himself'' ...

as Julienne Alia *

Monia Chokri Monia Chokri (born 27 June 1982) is a Canadian actress and film director. Life and career Born in Quebec City in 1982, she began her acting career after she completed her studies at Montreal's Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in 2005. Her mother is ...

as Stéfie Bellair * Susie Almgren as Journalist *

Yves Jacques Yves Jacques OC (born 10 May 1956) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor.Yves Jacques ...

as Michel Lafortune * Anne-Élisabeth Bossé as Mélanie * Anne Dorval as Marthe Delteuil * Sophie Faucher as Andrée Bellair * Magalie Lépine-Blondeau as Charlotte * David Savard as Albert * Catherine Bégin as Mama Rose * Emmanuel Schwartz as Baby Rose * Jacques Lavallée as Dada Rose * Perette Souplex as Tatie Rose * Patricia Tulasne as Shookie Rose

Production

Director

Xavier Dolan Xavier Dolan-Tadros (; born 20 March 1989) is a Canadian filmmaker, actor and costume designer. He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films. He first received international acclaim in 2 ...

was inspired to write ''Laurence Anyways'' upon hearing of the story of Luce Baillargé. At the time, Dolan was unaware his producer,

Lyse Lafontaine Lyse Lafontaine (born 1942) is a Canadian film producer known for working with directors Jean-Claude Lauzon and Xavier Dolan. She works at Lyla Films in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Early life Born to '' La Presse'' reporter Gaston Lafontaine, Lyse ...

, had been Baillargé's girlfriend and that they had a son, Mikaël. Lafontaine sought the consent of Baillargé and Baillargé's children before making the film.

Melvil Poupaud Melvil Poupaud (born 26 January 1973) is a French actor, author and filmmaker. Career Poupaud's first appearance was, as a child, in Raúl Ruiz's 1983 film '' City of Pirates''. He met Ruiz through his mother, Chantal Poupaud, who was a well-kn ...

took the role of Laurence. Despite not being familiar with Dolan's filmography, Poupaud found Dolan to be an interesting character, and said he was hoping for such a role in his acting career. Baillargé died of a heart attack before ''Laurence Anyways'' was completed and released. It is dedicated to her.

Release and reception

''Laurence Anyways'' was released in the United Kingdom by Network Releasing. It was theatrically released on 30 November 2012, and on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on 25 March 2013. The film was released theatrically in the United States on 28 June 2013 by Breaking Glass Pictures and was released on DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

on 8 October 2013. ''Laurence Anyways'' received mostly positive reviews from critics. It holds an approval rating of 84% percent based on 62 reviews in the film critics website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, with the general consensus being "Passionate and powerfully acted, ''Laurence Anyways'' sometimes strains to achieve its narrative ambitions (and fill its three-hour running time), but ultimately succeeds." The average rating is 7/10.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurence Anyways 2012 films 2012 romantic drama films 2012 LGBT-related films Canadian romantic drama films Canadian LGBT-related films Films directed by Xavier Dolan Lesbian-related films LGBT-related romantic drama films Queer Palm winners Films about trans women French-language Canadian films Films set in Montreal 2010s Canadian films