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Laurence Anyways

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Laurence Anyways
Official theatrical poster
Directed byXavier Dolan
Written byXavier Dolan
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYves Bélanger
Edited byXavier Dolan
Music byNoia
Production
companies
  • Lyla Films
  • MK2
Distributed byAlliance VivaFilm
Release dates
  • 18 May 2012 (2012-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 18 July 2012 (2012-07-18) (France)
  • 13 September 2012 (2012-09-13) (TIFF)
Running time
168 minutes[1]
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

Laurence Anyways is a 2012 Canadian epic romantic drama film written, directed and edited by Xavier Dolan. The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival[2][3] where Suzanne Clément won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress.[4] Laurence Anyways also won the Queer Palm Award at the festival.[5]

At the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, Laurence Anyways won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film.[6] The film also received ten nominations at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture, Best Direction for Dolan, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Poupaud, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Clément, and Best Screenplay for Dolan.

Plot

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The film begins by introducing 35-year old Laurence Alia (Melvil Poupaud), an award-winning novelist and literature teacher in Montreal, Quebec. Laurence is very much in love with his girlfriend, the fiery and passionate Frédérique - "Fred" - Bellair (Suzanne Clément). On the day of Fred's birthday, Laurence reveals to Fred his biggest secret; he has felt his entire life that he was born in the wrong body and says that he has been living a lie for so many years. He wishes to rectify the situation and restart his life as a woman. Fred accuses him 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. 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

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Melvil Poupaud stars as Laurence.

Production

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Director Xavier Dolan was inspired to write Laurence Anyways upon hearing of the story of Luce Baillairgé. At the time, Dolan was unaware his producer, Lyse Lafontaine, had been Baillairgé's girlfriend and that they had a son, Mikaël. Lafontaine sought the consent of Baillairgé and Baillairgé's children before making the film.[7]

Melvil Poupaud 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.[8]

Baillairgé died of a heart attack before Laurence Anyways was completed and released. It is dedicated to her.[7]

Release and reception

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Laurence Anyways was released in the United Kingdom by Network Releasing. It was theatrically released on 30 November 2012,[9] and on DVD on 25 March 2013.[10] 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 on 8 October 2013.

Laurence Anyways received mostly positive reviews from critics. It holds an approval rating of 84% percent based on 63 reviews in the film critics website Rotten Tomatoes, 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.[11]

Accolades

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Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm Xavier Dolan Won [12]
Un Certain Regard - Best Actress Suzanne Clément Won [13]
Un Certain Regard Award Xavier Dolan Nominated
César Awards Best Foreign Film Xavier Dolan Nominated [14]
Canadian Screen Awards Best Motion Picture Lyse Lafontaine Nominated [15]
Best Director Xavier Dolan Nominated
Best Actor Melvil Poupaud Nominated
Best Actress Suzanne Clément Nominated
Best Screenplay Xavier Dolan Nominated
Best Original Score Noia Nominated
Best Costume Design Xavier Dolan, François Barbeau Won [16]
Best Makeup Colleen Quinton, Kathy Kelso, Michelle Côté, Martin Lapointe Won
Best Sound Editing Sylvain Brassard, Stéphane Cadotte, Isabelle Favreau and Philippe Racine Nominated [15]
Art Direction/Production Design Anne Pritchard Nominated
Dorian Awards Film of the Year Laurence Anyways Nominated [17]
Guldbagge Award Best Foreign Film Xavier Dolan Nominated [18]
Jutra Award Best Film Charles Gillibert, Nathanaël Karmitz, Lyse Lafontaine, MK2 Productions, Lyla Films Nominated [19]
Best Direction Xavier Dolan Nominated
Best Actress Suzanne Clément Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Nathalie Baye Nominated
Monia Chokri Nominated
Best Screenplay Xavier Dolan Nominated
Best Cinematography Yves Bélanger Nominated
Best Art Direction Anne Pritchard Won
Best Hairstyling Michelle Côté, Martin Lapointe Won
Best Makeup Kathy Kelso, Colleen Quinton Won
Most Successful Film Outside Quebec Xavier Dolan Nominated
Lumières Award Best French-Language Film Xavier Dolan Nominated [20]
RiverRun International Film Festival Jury Prize - Best Actress Suzanne Clément Won [21]
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Best North American Independent Film Xavier Dolan Nominated
Toronto International Film Festival Best Canadian Feature Film Xavier Dolan Won [22]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Actor in a Canadian Film Melvil Poupaud Nominated [23]
Best Actress in a Canadian Film Suzanne Clément Nominated
Prix collégial du cinéma québécois Film of the Year (2013) Laurence Anyways Won [24]
Film of the Decade (2021) Won [25]

References

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  1. ^ "Laurence Anyways (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Dolan in two minds over Cannes". Times Colonist. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  4. ^ Cannes (27 May 2012). "Awards 2012". festival-cannes.fr. Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  5. ^ AFP (27 May 2012). "Queer Palm 2012: 'Laurence Anyways' de Xavier Dolan distingué à Cannes". France 24 (in French). Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  6. ^ "Toronto International Film Festival: Awards". tiff.net. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b Petrowski, Nathalie (1 June 2017). "Lyse Lafontaine: la missionnaire aventurière du cinéma". La Presse. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  8. ^ Blondeau, Romain (19 May 2012). "Melvil Poupaud dans 'Laurence Anyways': " J'attendais ce grand rôle depuis longtemps "". Les Inrockuptibles. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Launching Films". Film Distributors Association. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Network Releasing Laurence Anyways". Network Releasing. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Laurence Anyways". Laurence Anyways. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  12. ^ Lewsen, Simnm (September 2012). "Le Quëbécois Libre". The Walrus. p. 73.
  13. ^ "Canadian Suzanne Clement wins Best Actress at Cannes sidebar competition". The Canadian Press. 26 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Xavier Dolan's 'Laurence Anyways' nominated for Cesar in France". The Canadian Press. 25 January 2013.
  15. ^ a b Heilbron, Alexandra (15 January 2013). "2013 Canadian Screen Award nominees announced". Tribute. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  16. ^ Szklarski, Cassandra (3 March 2013). "Canadian Screen Awards: Rebelle wins 10 prizes, including best film". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  17. ^ Out (magazine) (15 January 2014). "GALECA 2013 nominees". Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  18. ^ Asp, Jon (21 January 2013). "Sweden's Golden Bugs swarm to Pichler's 'Eat Sleep Die'". Variety. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Jutra : Laurence anyways et Rebelle en tête des nominations". Radio-Canada. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Prix et nominations : Lumières de la presse étrangère 2013". AlloCiné. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  21. ^ Appelo, Tim (21 April 2013). "Francois Ozon, Kate Miles Melville, William Vega Win at RiverRun Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  22. ^ Mesley, Wendy (16 September 2012). "Xavier Dolan's "Laurence Anyways" won Best Canadian Feature at the TIFF". The National. CBC Television.
  23. ^ Lederman, Marsha (4 January 2013). "Vancouver film critics honour Ian Caddell, 'the epitome of the community builder in this city'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  24. ^ "LAURENCE ANYWAYS REMPORTE LE PRIX COLLÉGIAL DU CINÉMA QUÉBÉCOIS". Voir, March 26, 2013.
  25. ^ Amélie Revert, "«Laurence Anyways», film de la décennie du Prix collégial du cinéma québécois". Métro, November 8, 2021.
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