A modern masterpiece that juggles between tragedy and comedy, finally resulting in one of the most complex pieces of our generation. In its essence, ‘Matthias & Maxime’ is a story of a young man trying to find himself among people who already did. But who is the master behind all of it?
Xavier Dolan, Canadian-french writer, director, actor, and producer, has built his career around exploring relationships, especially their impact on the characters. In Palme d’Or winning ‘Mommy,’ he explores a mother’s desperate need to connect with her chaotic son in an attempt to build a life for both of them. ‘Laurence Anyways’ examines the story of a gender-transitioning man and what it does to their relationship to the woman they love in a very sophisticated manner. And in ‘Tom at the Farm,’ Dolan works through his character’s grief of losing his boyfriend through finding the boyfriend’s brother and showing the strange dynamic that their connection conjures. In addition, Dolan is always on a mission to create complex LGBTQ+ characters without making their sexuality the center of attention. He gives strong commentary on society and the world we live in through intimate portrayals of human connections, which is his work’s beauty.
To understand any film, we need to understand the characters inhabiting its world. Here, our leading duo is Matthias and Maxime, shortly Matt and Max. Other characters include their close friend group, families, and other acquaintances. Even though they have some significance in the story, the main focus is always on Matt or Max. It implies that both are the protagonists of the film, but in a surprising turn of events at the end, we realize that Matt was the main character all along. It is not as mind-blowing as other movies exercising this technique, but it still has a place in the narrative. Because there’s no character arc for Max, there’s no change of mind or thoughts; there’s just Max, who is leaving for Australia to start a new life.
On the other hand, Matt is going through a very turbulent period and is always on the tightrope. Between both, he is undoubtedly the most exciting animal in the zoo. So, exploring Matt as a person and how he deals with his inner demons with Max as our guide crafts a very compelling journey. But who are Matt and Max?
Matt is a character who is well-educated and brought up in a good loving family. But the most exciting thing about him is that he is a very mysterious character that always tries to conceal his thoughts from his family, friends, and even the audience. We are conflicted about Matt, never knowing what he will do next, making his choices even more compelling. Is he the heteronormative image of a man who has a girlfriend because he wants a relationship, or is he someone who still hasn’t found himself and hides behind the straight perception of manhood? Going more in-depth with the character, he doesn’t show any interest in his job; he is constantly distracted, forgetting everything. And it’s terrifying for him to “wake up one day and realize you’re stuck,” as his boss puts it. The boss goes on to say, “Sometimes, you spend your life doing one thing, and in the end, it wasn’t your thing.” This is exemplified by his out-of-touch behavior and confused headspace in most scenes; it’s as if he has been placed there without his permission and wants to run away, get into bed and never leave again. Furthermore, the gloominess surrounding him is too apparent to disregard. And the film understands that by placing his journey at the center of the story, hiding him right behind Max, precisely like he hides his true self.
And don’t get me wrong, Max is also a well-written and engaging character with a lot of baggage. He is a bisexual man with an unstable mother who cannot live without supervision, which is a total contrast to Matt’s situation. She is chain-smoking every day and lives in a mess, but the most egregious offense is how she treats Max. She disregards him and longs for his older brother to eventually answer her phone calls. That’s probably one of the reasons Max leaves the country and goes as far as Australia of all the places. The only thing left for Max is the memories of the past they had together as a family; the memories caged in the refrigerator photos, never to be experienced again. Even in the beginning, we see him looking at a billboard of a happy family, longing for something that is missing. The only people that genuinely care about Max are his close friends, except for his aunt. But there’s something else between him and Matt; the tension is impeccable.
We first feel it in one of the crucial scenes: the kissing scene. One of their friends’ sisters is shooting a film and needs two men in front of the camera. Eventually, Matt and Max end up in the room with the camera rolling. From that point on, Dolan gets the ball rolling, going deeper and deeper into Matt’s psyche, exploring and analyzing his thoughts and actions. Max is unfazed by the kiss; he doesn’t mind it. It’s also revealed they have done it before in high school. The details are not disclosed, but you could guess that Matt and Max have a complicated history predating everything in the film. The act of kissing not only brings back all the memories but also opens new wounds. Though, it’s not the only important thing about the scene.
Other vital elements of making this film vibrant are composition, blocking, and colors. Before the previously mentioned kissing scene, Matt and Max are in the mundane dish-washing process. Pay attention to the colors of their shirts, red for Max and blue for Matt. Then we go to the actual scene, and they switch the colors. Now Matt is in a red T-shirt, whereas Max is in a blue one. It’s worth noting that later in the film, when Matt is choosing clothes, he first goes for a pink shirt but then shows up in blues for the scene. That all acts as a subtle hint that Matt struggles with his masculinity and cares about how people perceive him. Because blue is traditionally considered a more manly color than reds and pinks, he feels safer in it.
But what about the composition of shots? Dolan found the best way to frame Matt and Max to convey the intimate yet distant kind of relationship. There’s always a division between characters, whether through placing a camera between characters, a person, or some other object. That is done to make them feel distanced, detached. Moreover, Dolan chose to have a lot of frame-in-a-frame moments for Matthias & Maxime. If you go back to the dish-washing scene, you can notice both of these elements in action. First, they are standing before the window above the sink, and the camera is looking through that window, creating a shot where only they are visible. That not only makes us focus on the characters and dialogues but also inadvertently tells us that this film is about them and them only. Second, when the sister character interrupts them with her request, she stands in the middle, throwing them into opposite sides of the shot. To be frank, that is a masterclass in filmmaking.
Finally, we arrived at the second vital scene in the film, which connects to the ending and coincidentally also involves kissing. It comes after the fight at the party, the moment where Matt is unexplainably outraged because of a simple game culminating in him calling Max “ink stain” because of his birthmark. Yet again, this illustrates that there’s a lot of unresolved trauma in Matt’s head. The things that can ruin friendships and families if not navigated and worked through correctly. Afterwards, Matt goes into the laundry room where Max’s sulking figure hides. Notice how the aspect ratio changes here, making it a more cinematic experience than the rest of the film. I get the sense that Dolan did this to emphasize how Matt feels with Max, namely out of the loop, not part of this world, in the universe where he can be who he wants to be. It’s a window into his world. The climax comes when Matt starts kissing Max but then gets scared of moving deeper into the moment. The act of pulling away shows how even though he did what he wanted, he is still the same person covered in shame, insecurity, and helplessness. All of that doesn’t disappear with one act of self-revealing. But Max exclaims after him, “We have to talk. I want to understand.” We don’t get a reply. Matt is not ready.
The last scene of the film has a callback to this through the same song.
It’s “Song For Zula” by Phosphorescent playing during both moments. It perfectly encapsulates what Matt feels, namely being trapped in a cage made of love and not being free of his insecurities. The song talks about how love disfigured the person into something they don’t recognize, which many queer people in the closet could relate to because many of them are taught to hate the LGBTQ+ community and see them as freaks. So, when they feel like a member of that community, they can’t recognize themselves. They feel trapped and betrayed. Even people surrounded by a diverse group can feel trapped in their minds because of familial and societal factors, which is the case for Matt.
Eventually, when we look at the last moment of the film, and when we hear the same song but with a different atmosphere surrounding Matt and Max, we sense the familiarity but also resolution. This time there’s a glimpse of self-knowledge in Matt’s eyes, and Max finally feels the difference.
In conclusion, Dolan created such an artistically rich and detailed film that it’s hard to summarize everything without going on many tangents. From acting to cinematography, everything is done very tastefully and creates a world that is in a timeless vacuum of art. The way Dolan showcases relationships and breaks them down in such an elegant way makes not only a compelling piece of filmmaking but also lends itself to thorough analysis and study. That is the most significant factor for my love for this awe-inspiring film and Xavier Dolan’s filmography. I will forever cherish Matthias & Maxime as one of my all-time favorite cinematic experiences!
