#John f donovan series#
#John f donovan tv#

DolanвЂ™s age has always been referenced in regards to his work and earlier on, this was understandable (after working as a child actor, he made his first film when he was 20) but itвЂ™s no longer enough to use his youth as a way of overlooking his repetitive excesses.ДЄfter his last film, the screechy, annoying ItвЂ™s Only the End of the World, heвЂ™s descended even further into self-parody with Donovan, a film so befuddling to watch and understand that one can sense the tortured post-production process lingering over every scene. The cast also includes Kathy Bates, Michael Gambon and Susan Sarandon, with Jessica Chastain being left on the cutting room floor вЂ“ a dazzling line-up of stars for any director, let alone one who has yet to turn 30. Stars were attached as early as 2014, soon after the release of DolanвЂ™s most warmly received film to date, the Cannes-lauded melodrama Mommy.

We go back and forth to see Rupert as an 11-year old wannabe child actor (Jacob Tremblay) struggling to get used to life in England with a distracted mother (Natalie Portman) and John, struggling to hide his sexuality in an industry that isnвЂ™t ready for a gay star. As a 21-year-old, Rupert (Ben Schnetzer) is being interviewed by reluctant, snobbish journalist Audrey (Thandie Newton) about his new book, which recounts the letters he shared with actor John F Donovan (Kit Harington) as a child. The parallels with DolanвЂ™s latest film hardly need spelling out here.Before the filmвЂ™s premiere at this yearвЂ™s Toronto film festival, Dolan read out a letter he penned to Leonardo DiCaprio as an eight-year-old, anecdotal evidence of the inspiration for a plot which explores a similar, idealised relationship. The story climaxes with The VerveвЂ™s вЂњBittersweet Symphony,вЂќ a blowhard fanfare of hollow triumphalism masquerading as a profound commentary on the human condition. Less so here, where Gabriel YaredвЂ™s syrupy, emotionally didactic score intrudes on almost every scene, sometimes even threatening to drown out dialogue. Music has always been a vivid presence in DolanвЂ™s work too, with shiny pop hits and delirious dance numbers expertly embedded into previous films. Donovan does at least offer some sensory pleasures, including cinematographer Andre TurpinвЂ™s sumptuous color schemes and elegant camerawork. Made with great technical polish, The Death and Life of John F. A brief cameo by Michael Gambon as a Yoda-like sage dispensing wise life lessons feels corny and clumsy.

Not even veteran screen heavyweights like Sarandon and Bates can make this leaden prose come alive. His English-language dialogue is also graceless and tin-eared. He seems to be so in love with these autobiographical characters, he fails to make them remotely charming or even accessible to his viewers. But however long he tinkered, Dolan has not quite salvaged a story whose default setting seems to be mirthless, ponderous navel-gazing. In the process, a whole character played by Jessica Chastain was surgically removed. When cruel classmates steal his letters from Donovan, their shared secret blows up into an international news story.Дolan has labored hard to yoke together these tricksy, time-jumping, intertwined plots, reportedly editing down a mountain of material over two years.

Meanwhile, at school in London, Rupert becomes a victim of bullying with an undercurrent of homophobia. With his sexuality deeply in the closet, he uses a longtime female friend as his official beard, until one day when a careless hookup leads to his public outing and career meltdown. Like his preteen fanboy, Donovan is a lonely misfit scarred forever by a typically Dolan-esque, adversarial relationship with his overbearing mother (Sarandon). To his amazement, Donovan wrote back, kicking off a long, clandestine correspondence between the two.

#John f donovan tv#

Donovan (Harington), the lead in a hit supernatural TV drama with vaguely Harry Potter-ish overtones. More than a decade earlier, as an aspiring child actor living in London with his single mom (Portman), the schoolboy Rupert (Tremblay) sent regular fan letters to his favorite TV star, John F.

#John f donovan series#

Toronto: Neon Picks Up Natalie Portman Pop-Star Drama 'Vox Lux'Дolan corals the narrative with a clunky old dramatic device, a series of flashbacks framed in the form of an interview that rising young screen star Rupert Turner (Ben Schnetzer) gives to a cynical journalist (Newton).