It's Only the End of the World
A dying writer’s homecoming turns a long-awaited family reunion into a volatile study of love, resentment, and the words people cannot say.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- claustrophobic
- volatile
- quiet night
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly agreed that the film offered a talented cast and daring stylized treatment of family dysfunction, but found its heightened melodrama and emotional distance divisive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Louis returns intending to share life-altering news, but small talk, interruptions, and emotional defensiveness repeatedly obstruct disclosure.
The film is noted for its extensive close-ups, which intensify the family members' proximity while emphasizing their emotional isolation.
Dolan uses heightened performances, volatile confrontations, and hallucinatory visual emphasis to render the family's collapse.
Louis comes home after twelve years away, reopening old resentments among his mother, siblings, and sister-in-law.
Films like It's Only the End of the World, and why
The Son's Room
shared intimate family conflict, emotional repression, and intense chamber-drama confrontation
August: Osage County
shared dysfunctional family dynamics, buried resentment, and psychologically charged domestic drama
The Kids Are All Right
shared queer identity, difficult family communication, and restrained melancholic drama
The Celebration
shared theatrical dialogue, fractured intimacy, and stylized treatment of familial alienation
Movie Details
- Director
- Xavier Dolan
- Release Date
- 2016-09-21
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (1683)
Cast
- Gaspard Ulliel
- Nathalie Baye
- Vincent Cassel
- Marion Cotillard
- Léa Seydoux
- Antoine Desrochers
- William Boyce Blanchette
- Sasha Samar
- Arthur Couillard
- Patricia Tulasne
Common questions
- What is It's Only the End of the World about?
- A dying writer’s homecoming turns a long-awaited family reunion into a volatile study of love, resentment, and the words people cannot say.
- What is It's Only the End of the World like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of It's Only the End of the World as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is It's Only the End of the World violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in It's Only the End of the World.
- What did critics think of It's Only the End of the World?
- Critics broadly agreed that the film offered a talented cast and daring stylized treatment of family dysfunction, but found its heightened melodrama and emotional distance divisive.
- Which films are like It's Only the End of the World?
- Films with a similar feel include The Son's Room, August: Osage County, The Kids Are All Right, and The Celebration.
- How long is It's Only the End of the World?
- It's Only the End of the World runs 99 minutes.
