The latest from diligent Québécois auteur Xavier Dolan, whose previous two films I KILLED MY MOTHER and HEARTBEATS opened to a mixture of acclaim and premature heckles, LAURENCE ANYWAYS is another flamboyant and gorgeously dressed spin through sexual identity crises and gender legislation. Here Dolan’s eye veers away from his previous cinematic treatments towards a topic altogether broader and more far-reaching.

Vibrantly spanning the 1990s – a decade brought to life by the accurate inclusions of garish fashions and a thumping (yet carefully chosen) soundtrack – LAURENCE ANYWAYS tells the sprawling tale of a heterosexual love affair, brought about by a life-altering confession, that bounds from volatile peak to rapturous trough. Laurence (spectacularly played by Melvil Poupaud) unexpectedly makes the decision to part ways with his dormant masculinity and embrace the fact that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body, telling his girlfriend Fred (an excellent Suzanne Clément) that he wants to start the journey of becoming the woman he was born to be. Initially supportive of his unexpected choices, Fred slowly begins to notice that their long-term relationship may never be the same again, paving the way for a whirlwind and grandly orchestrated love story as the two drift in and out of each other’s increasingly dizzying lives; an unbreakable bond that flies in the face of hostility from family, friends and society.

Though dripping with gaudily extravagant 90s chic, the film unfortunately labours under a 161-minute running time that rarely has the heft to fully explore all the thoughts…

Though dripping with gaudily extravagant 90s chic, the film unfortunately labours under a 161-minute running time that rarely has the depth to fully explore all the thoughts clearly swirling around Dolan’s mind while he was penning the screenplay. Astonishing visuals gloss over a relatively miniscule grasp of the psychological intricacies that Laurence’s decision invokes, forgetting to answer questions that are thrown up with haphazard abandon throughout its episodic structure. Laurence is seen proudly strutting (in arresting slow motion) in both a newfound wardrobe and exacting makeup, which is explored to humorous effect in a scene that charts his confident post-transition strut through the hallway of the school where he works. But Dolan fails to get under his skin, to map out the finer physical details of his transformation. The ballad of Laurence and Fred is deeply rendered, but his transsexuality is all surface texture, no matter how much Poupaud’s performance delicately avoids clichéd camp.

The ballad of Laurence and Fred is deeply rendered, but his transsexuality is all surface texture, no matter how much Poupaud’s performance delicately avoids clichéd camp.

Though not without its aesthetic qualities and an incredibly honed auteurist signature (a mix of kitschy scandal and glittering slow-mo), LAURENCE ANYWAYS suffers from an indulgent approach, editing in as much filmic splendour as possible whilst failing to deliver a worthwhile conclusion for both the story and the protagonists. Handsome and sweeping, but a film that rarely amounts to the sum of its parts.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwDzRzqFaIE