C.R.A.Z.Y.

Director : Jean-Marc Vallée

Actors : Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin, Danielle Proulx, Pierre-Luc Brillant, Marilou Wolf, Maxime Tremblay, Axel Grave and Emile Vallée.

What is it about ?

Zac is the fourth child of a middle-class French Canadian family composed of 5 sons. He was born on the Christmas Eve of 1960. His parents were hoping to have at last a daughter, after their three first sons but here was Zac another boy like the others. But was it really the case? I mean, was he really like the others? For his mother it was not completely true: she thought he had a power given by God and that it was not purely by chance if he was born this specific day of the year. At first, he becomes his father favourite child, but one day his father catches Zac looking after his little brother dressed up with his mother’s night gown and wearing high hills shoes. That’s the end of the strong bond that until then united the father to his child and the beginning of a new war that has just been declared.

What did I think about it?

This is a fantastic film! Really a must-see! The scenario is great, the actors are great, the music is amazing and the way it has been directed in very impressive. In this film you can follow Zac’s life from his childhood to his twenties and see the evolution of his feelings towards other members of his family and the evolution of the relationships that links people together in this family.

Through all this film Zac is looking for a place in his world, trying to control his unsettled sexuality. He knows well that he is gay but in order to still be accepted among his brothers and by his fathers he tries to pretend that it is not the case. He even pretends it to himself trying to convince himself that he is in love with a girl. But this will never succeed and his father will never forgive him.

I really enjoyed the scenes where Zac is dreaming and imagine other scenarios for the times of his life that he can’t cope with. His journey throughout his life is also made thanks to the music he is listening to and that is present throughout all the film. Indeed, the music follows the story and its different times and characters. From Charles Aznavour to David Bowie, including Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones, and above all Patsy Cline song that gives its title to the movie: Crazy. This film also is full of events and reflections about life and you would never regret to have watched it.

Time: 127 minutes

Rating: *****