'The Death & Life of John F. Donovan' is a mess - even if it's an intriguing one. The English-language debut of Canadian director Xavier Dolan ambitiously tackles themes of fame, privacy, sexuality, growing up, and, of course, mothers and sons but never really digs too deep beneath the surface of the very complicated issues it takes on. And from Green Day's 'Jesus of Suburbia' to Florence + The Machine's 'Stand by Me' and Lifehouse's 'Hanging by a Moment,' Dolan is at his worst when he allows his cringe-worthy choice of music to substitute for a deeper effort to underline his characters' emotional states. Still, at the very least, 'The Death & Life of John F. Donovan' is never boring with the big brassy performances from the movie's generally strong casts.

Dolan beautifully creates an incredibly personal & poignant, hopeful & contemplative movie which in its very essence captures the complexities of the normalcy of people's lives, regardless of their remarkablility, status or situation, illustrating how our mistakes can often act as a catalyst to inspire future generations to unburden themselves of the same insecurities. It's about authenticity, honesty, dignity & perseverance in the face of oppression, additionally acting as a wider criticism regarding the intolerance & prejudice present within the wider film industry.

This is a film which is unafraid to ask a LOT of questions & equally, is also bold enough to answer them with an impressive amount of potential original & refreshing statements - so I won't even speculate about all the possible discussions to be had as this review would surely transpire in to a passionately verbose theological seminar.

Undoubtedly, the pacing of the film is inconsistent & the story is messy but this merely reflects the untidiness of events as they unfold; things aren't pristine, nothing's perfect & instead of chasing the concept of faultlessnes, The Death & Life of John F. Donovan revels in its imperfections: the unapologetically campy cheesiness & the overly sentimental ponderous philosophical interactions. None hindered the viewing experience as it's so joyously confident & daring.

Try as i might, i just cannot (yet) join the Xavier Dolan appreciation society. Even here, when he has amassed a fairly decent box-office cast, the film is still lacking. Far too much emphasis goes on the look of the film, the style of the photography - intimate, exposing; the soundtrack frequently potently accompanying the storyline - but therein lies my problem. The story. What story? Is this just only ever going to be notable because Kit Harrington kisses a man? Sadly, this offered me little else to engage with. The story is told by way of an interview by disinterested journalist Thandie Newton with a twenty-one year old "Rupert Turner" (Ben Schnetzer). His tale is interesting - as a child, he entered into what turned out to be a long term letter-writing relationship with a television heart-throb. The young boy (rather well played here by Jacob Tremblay) is living with his mother (Natalie Portman) in Britain where he is struggling to settle in - without a father, and with his own sexuality. It transpires that, though never disclosed in their long period of written exchanges, the eponymous character was also a man of conflicted sexuality. Those are the bones of the story, but it is remarkably devoid of flesh or characterisation as it lumbers along past the two hour mark. I would single out a really potent cameo from Sir Michael Gambon - perhaps the only particularly pertinent sentiment i took from the script, otherwise I am afraid this promises much but delivers little.