Up Close and Personal The Subjective Cinema of Xavier Dolan Josie Taalman Date: 26th of June 2017 10003959 Word count: 23.783 MA Film Studies Thesis Supervisor: dr. Amir Vudka Second Reader: dr. Emiel Martens Up Close and Personal The Subjective Cinema of Xavier Dolan 1 Abstract Since the release of his first feature film J’ai tué ma mère in 2009, Canadian director Xavier Dolan has been one of the most celebrated young talents of the independent film industry. Despite his expanding body of work and rising success, the academic attention for Dolan’s films has been relatively limited. This thesis aims to examine the oeuvre of this self-taught filmmaker. It is shown that subjectivity is a central element in Dolan’s work and the primary focus of this thesis is to examine this subjectivity. Following the articles that have been written on Dolan, that mainly focus on his recognizable style and his mentation, the subjectivity of the filmmaker is discussed in connection to auteur theory. A reading of Dolan as a modern-day auteur shows that, although he has a specific style, it’s impossible to recognize Dolan’s subjectivity in his films. Theories on passive and active spectatorship are used to examine the subjectivity of the spectator. Following theories on active spectatorship, it is argued that subjective cinematic experiences can’t be generalized. Finally, it is shown that Dolan himself provides an accurate theory on his films by stating that characters’ stories and subjectivity are central. Several theories on character subjectivity are discussed to show that Xavier Dolan uses specific techniques to create this subjectivity. The terminology of David Bordwell, Kristen Thompson and Jeff Smith is used to distinguish perceptual and mental subjectivity. Through formal analyses of his films, it’s argued that Dolan constructs perceptual subjectivity with shots that assume the spatial position of characters, shots that show characters’ interpretative perception and semi-subjective shots. Bruce Kawin’s theory on the mindscreen is connected to mental subjectivity and Gilles Deleuze’s theory on actual and virtual images is used to recognize memory-, dream- and crystal-images in Dolan’s films. Furthermore, Torben Grodal’s argument on the connection between subjectivity and control is discussed to show that Dolan subjectivises the objective. In these formal analyses a connection is made with the major themes in Dolan’s films, as these are constructed and shown through the characters’ conscious minds. It is argued that the subjective images reflect on characters’ isolated position in the film’s reality, their fractured family bonds, their yearning for an impossible love and their desire to retain control on their life. Key words: Xavier Dolan – Character subjectivity – Perceptual subjectivity – Mental subjectivity – Mindscreen – Crystal-image – Subjectivising the objective 2 Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...4 1. Defining Subjective Cinema…………………………………………………………….....8 1.1 Subjectivity of the Filmmaker…………………………………………………………..8 1.2 Cinematic Experience…………………………………………………………………11 1.3 Subjectivity of Characters.…………………………………………………………….14 2. Subjective Techniques in Xavier Dolan’s films…………………………………………18 2.1 Perceptual Subjectivity………………………………………………………………..21 2.2 Mental Subjectivity……………………………………………………………………35 3. Subjectivising the Objective………………………………………………………….…..52 3.1 Enclosing Space……………………………………………………………………….53 3.2 Coloring……………………………………………………………………………….60 3.3 Soundtrack & Temporality…………………………………………………………….65 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………68 Notes……………………………………………………………………………………….....71 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………75 3 Introduction “The flamboyantly coiffed Quebecois writer-director who put the auteur into hauteur, Xavier Dolan has enjoyed a sensational career rise over the last five years, going from teenage actor to Cannes Competition contender at the ridiculously young age of 25.” (Stephen Dalton, 2014) “Many critics have argued the age of the ‘auteur’ filmmaker is over. Dolan proves it’s back.” (Matthew Wade, 2014) “In fact, of all the excellent directors currently working today, he seems to me to be the most potent auteur, who recalls the grandest of directors like Renoir, Truffaut, Varda, yes Fellini.” (Declan Cochran, 2016) Despite his young age and lack of education, Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan has already enjoyed a thriving career. The now 28-year-old, self-taught filmmaker has released six feature films since 2009, that all premiered at prestigious film festivals and received international critical acclaim. As can be read in the quotations mentioned above, some critics have even stated that Dolan can be recognized as an auteur. These critics praise Dolan’s unique style and often recognize his films as being partly autobiographical. They connect the identity and mentation of the filmmaker to reoccurring themes, storylines and stylistic elements in his films. These reoccurring ‘autobiographical’ elements have also been recognized by various scholars, although the academic attention for Dolan’s films has been relatively limited. The first stirrings of scholarly attention have mainly focused on the films’ queer angle and Dolan’s queer identity, his take on family and mother-son relationships and his Canadian heritage1. Dolan himself has regularly contested the label of ‘auteur’ and argues that his mentation and identity can’t be connected to his films. He especially despises the term Queer cinema and states in several interviews that his queer identity does not define his craft or style. He prefers to be seen as a ‘storyteller’ (Musto, 2011). According to Dolan, an audience should be able to forget the filmmaker and watch the life-world of on screen characters, their story, identity and mentation. In an interview with Filmcomment he stated: A lot of directors out there promote their own signature and their own trademark and I’m really happy for them, but it’s also very distracting when you watch a film to feel 4 that someone is putting himself or herself up front and won’t give you a break from remembering that this is a movie directed by someone. When you watch a movie you want to forget this and think this is a microcosm created for you and for the story and not for someone to show off and say this is my oeuvre—it’s tiring. Although Xavier Dolan clearly opposes the quoted critics and scholars that focus on his identity and mentation, a similar ground can be recognized in their claims. Both Dolan and these writers focus on the subjectivities that are involved in cinematic practices. They aim to define the conscious minds that are related to film. The critics and scholars try to locate the subjectivity of Dolan; they define the films as products of his mind. In doing so, their ideas can be connected to one of the earliest theories that has been formulated on cinema: auteur theory. Dolan, on the other hand, focuses on the construction of the story and mentation of his characters. He argues that the subjectivities of characters should be central in film. My personal fascination for this filmmaker started with another subjective mind; my own, as a spectator. In 2011, I went to a small cinema in Amsterdam to see a film of an upcoming director; it was Dolan’s Les amours imaginaires (2010). For 102 minutes I felt the hyper-stylized images were alternately attracting and repelling me. This interplay constantly reminded me of the constructed nature of the film and my position towards the screen. From that moment on, I’ve been intrigued by this maker and his films. I’m aware that my personal example can’t be generalized as the experience for all spectators, but it does show there’s another subjective mind that should not be neglected when looking at Dolan’s films. The three subjectivities that are hereby exposed, that of the filmmaker, the fictional characters and the spectator, are involved in all cinematic practices and have been discussed extensively within Film Studies. The disagreement between the critics and Xavier Dolan and my personal experience show that these subjectivities have an important position in Dolan’s films. Because very little academic texts have been written on this director, despite his rising success, this thesis will investigate these subjectivities. In doing so, the following main question will be answered: What is subjectivity in the films of Xavier Dolan? This main question evokes several sub-questions that are interwoven throughout this thesis. First the notion of subjectivity will be examined, answering the question: How can subjectivity be defined or produced in cinema? This question will be answered by looking at theories on the three subjectivities that are dominant in Film studies. After these subjectivities are defined, this thesis aims to recognize the conscious minds in Dolan’s oeuvre. The 5 following questions will be answered: How can the subjective minds of the filmmaker, the spectators and the characters be recognized in Dolan’s films? To answer these questions, different theories will be connected to Dolan’s films and to the existing texts that have been written on this filmmaker. It will be argued that only the constructed subjectivity of characters can truly be examined. This thesis will continue to focus solely on these conscious minds, answering the question: How does Xavier Dolan construct the subjectivity of characters in his films? This question will be answered through formal analyses of Dolan’s films. In order to make a valuable and cohesive statement on Dolan’s films, all his released feature films will be analyzed and compared. The main focus of these analyses will be the reoccurring visual and audial elements that construct subjectivity. Dolan also directed two music videos: Indochine’s College Boy (2013) and Adele’s Hello (2015). These videos will not be analyzed, as Dolan did not have the sole control on their creation and because these clips construct story and character in a different manner. This means the following films will be examined: J’ai tué ma mère (2009), Les amours imaginaires (2010), Laurence Anyways (2012), Tom à la ferme (2013), Mommy (2014) and Juste la fin du monde (2016).