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“The Death & Life of John F. Donovan” is a Canadian film starring Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Ben Schnetzer, Amara Karan, Chris Zylca, Jared Keeso, Emily Hampshire, Sarah Gadon, and Michael Gambon. It was written by Xavier Dolan and Jacob Tierney, based on an original idea by Xavier Dolan, also directed by Xavier Dolan.
The film tells the story of a young actor/writer named Rupert giving an interview regarding his secret conversations (that lasted for about 5 years) via mail with a famous actor when he was just a little kid. His exchanges with this actor (John F. Donovan) lead to him discovering things about himself as a person as well as an artist, it allows for him to make up scenarios about John’s private life and to find parallels between this actor’s ostensible family struggles and his own family problems. Their correspondence exchange stops when John dies by suicide according to the news.
Correction: The interview I mentioned where Jennifer Lawrenfe talks with Jerry Seinfeld about being "rude" to fans in order to protect herself was not actually with Jerry Seinfeld. It was with Adam Sandler, I confused the two comedians, my apoligies. The video is on KZbin in the official Variety channel on an "Actors on Actors" segment.
After reading some comments on KZbin, I found out that a lot of people feel like Rupert was also gay and the guy he got on the motorcycle with in the end was his boyfriend. Unlike John (and thanks to him), he did not have to hide who he was. If this is the case, it makes the ending even better.
“The Death & Life of John F. Donovan” tells a very common story about some of the effects of fame and broken family relationships but it does so in a very uncommon and original way. After recording the video for this review I was incredulous to read about the bad reviews given to this film by critics. I could not disagree more, this film is unique without seeming pretentious, it touches on the often sought after “fame” but in a way that is relatable to people like me who have never tasted that sweet poison. It oscillates between the aforementioned and everyday struggles with family members, specifically a mother and son relationship. The way it was written, shot and executed by the actors paved the way for audience members to genuinely care about the story, to relate to most characters whether or not we shared their struggles or circumstances. Special kudos to Jacob Tremblay, for portraying such a troubled yet hopeful child while being just a child himself, his talent is simply incredible. I would wholeheartedly recommend this film to any cinephile with a passion for serious film consumption and enjoyment. Warning: The greatness of this movie comes at a cost, at least for the more sensitive viewers like myself. It is heavy and not easy to process, having known this beforehand I would have still watched it 100%. There is always a positive message to take even from the darkest films.
#thedeathandlifeofjohnfdonovan
My personal rating for this movie is:
10/10
Thanks for watching!
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