Follow TV Tropes

Following

Creator / Xavier Dolan

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/494a4c5e9814546d0ddecfe61a680a38.jpeg

"People think I'm a control freak, and I am. But then I want to say, 'Of course I am — I'm a director.'"

Xavier Dolan-Tadros (born March 20, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian filmmaker and actor from French-speaking Quebec.

The son of Egyptian-born Canadian actor, voice actor and singer-songwriter Manuel Tadros, Dolan is known for his unique approach to filmmaking, often utilizing a thematic focus on identity in regards to gender/sexuality (often pertaining to LGBT characters) and/or families (often within dysfunctional contexts). On the production side, his films are known for their semi-recurring actors (actress Anne Dorval being the most consistent, appearing in five of his films) and for Dolan taking considerable initiative behind the camera, producing and writing his films if not also editing and acting in them, as well as doing other tasks like art direction, fashion design, still photography and English/French subtitles and dubs.

Initially starting off as a child actor in his native Montreal, Dolan soon transitioned into dubbing work. Although he has contributed to dozens of films since 2000, many of them attached to big-name franchises, French Canadian tropers might recognize him as the voice of Ron Weasley, Jacob or Paul Atreides, and he and his father often dub characters in the same works. He has also appeared in a good number of acting roles in front of the camera, and on multiple occasions provided his own voice for Canadian and European French dubs of the films.

Dolan first received international acclaim with his debut film, I Killed My Mother (2009), conceived by him between the ages of 16 and 20 and heavily based on his own life. He has since directed seven more feature films, a limited series and three music videos — two of them being for Adele ("Hello" and "Easy on Me"), with both songs being the singer's first singles after a noted hiatus (three years for the former, six for the latter).

Almost all of Dolan's films premiered at Cannes Film Festival (Tom at the Farm instead debuted at the Venice International Film Festival), and he has won an impressive catalog of awards for them, among them 3 César Awards and 8 Cannes awards, including a Jury Prize for Mommynote  and a Grand Prix for It's Only the End of the World. While he hasn't always been on the good side of critics (End of the World was divisive, and The Death & Life of John F. Donovan outright panned), his work has been generally well-received.

In 2023, Dolan announced in an interview that he intends to retire from filmmaking, saying, "I no longer have the desire or strength to commit myself to a project for two years that barely anyone sees. I put too much passion into it to have so many disappointments." He also stated that he had promised to shoot an English-language series for HBO before the COVID-19 Pandemic, and that he would keep his word and finish work on the project before retiring.

Apart from his art, Dolan is also known for being very opinionated, and for his persistent status as an "enfant terrible" of Quebecois cinema. (He's not too keen on the moniker.)

Has nothing to do with Dolan.


Filmography:

  • I Killed My Mother (2009)
  • Heartbeats (2010)
  • Laurence Anyways (2012)
  • Tom at the Farm (2013)
  • Mommy (2014)
  • It's Only the End of the World (2016)
  • The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018)
  • Matthias & Maxime (2019)
  • The Night Logan Woke Up (limited series; 2022)

Notable VA Credits:

Tropes prevalent in his work include:

  • All Love Is Unrequited: His first three films especially cover this trope.
  • Angst: There aren't too many well-adjusted characters in his movies.
  • Auteur License: From I Killed My Mother onwards, he’s produced and edited all his films.
  • Creator Thumbprint:
    • Complicated family dynamics, especially between mothers and sons; homosexuality; vicious screaming fights.
    • As a part of it himself, Dolan is very fond of the French dubbing industries, Canadian and European alike. References to French and Canadian French voice actors can be found in his films provided one's well versed in that world.
  • Production Posse: Anne Dorval in particular (four films) but also Suzanne Clément (three films), Monia Chomkry, Nathalie Baye, and Niels Schneider (two films each) are regulars.
  • Signature Style: Lengthy films centered on homosexuality, motherhood and unique cinematography.
  • Straight Gay: Dolan is openly gay and homosexuality is a major theme in all his movies, sometimes with autobiographical inspirations.

Top