Mommy
A fiercely bonded mother and her volatile teenage son find precarious hope through an unlikely friendship with a troubled neighbor.
Overview
A raw and emotional journey of a mother and son navigating their turbulent relationship amidst societal judgment.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- volatile
- intimate
- cathartic
- quiet night
- arthouse movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as a challenging yet rewarding, visually distinctive family drama elevated by Anne Dorval’s powerhouse performance and Xavier Dolan’s love for his characters.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Die struggles to support and protect Steve while surviving precarious employment and social judgment.
The film is known for its smartphone-like near-square image, which becomes an expressive feature of the family’s constrained lives.
Steve demands Die’s complete attention and reacts intensely to her possible male relationships, while their mutual love remains central.
Kyla and Paul become important sources of practical and emotional support for Die and Steve.
Films like Mommy, and why
I Killed My Mother
shared emotionally volatile parent child relationship, working class family drama, and intense naturalistic performances
The Florida Project
shared raw domestic realism, psychologically distressed characters, and intimate nonlinear emotional intensity
August: Osage County
shared dysfunctional family bonds, confrontational dialogue, and cathartic working class melodrama
Laurence Anyways
shared french language arthouse sensibility, wounded characters, and visually expressive family drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Xavier Dolan
- Release Date
- 2014-09-19
- Runtime
- 138 min
- Rating
- 8.2 / 10 (2902)
Cast
- Anne Dorval
- Suzanne Clément
- Antoine Olivier Pilon
- Patrick Huard
- Alexandre Goyette
- Michèle Lituac
- Viviane Pacal
- Natalie Hamel-Roy
- Isabelle Nélisse
- Ted Pluviose
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mommy about?
- A fiercely bonded mother and her volatile teenage son find precarious hope through an unlikely friendship with a troubled neighbor.
- What is Mommy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mommy as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mommy violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Mommy as moderate.
- What did critics think of Mommy?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as a challenging yet rewarding, visually distinctive family drama elevated by Anne Dorval’s powerhouse performance and Xavier Dolan’s love for his characters.
- Which films are like Mommy?
- Films with a similar feel include I Killed My Mother, The Florida Project, August: Osage County, and Laurence Anyways.
- How long is Mommy?
- Mommy runs 138 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mommy?
- In United States, Mommy is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
