RVCQ’09 Review: Maman est chez le coiffeur

Subtlety is not the strong point of Maman est chez le coiffeur; and though it has been receiving some attention for the performances of its adults (Céline Bonnier is nominated for Supporting Actress at the Jutra awards), the kids deserve all the praise for keeping the film afloat. Léa Pool’s latest is a tale about a typical town in the 1960s. The film reveals many of the disorders, gender choices and disabilities common in the discourse of today, but bottled up or secluded back then. It must be commended for its attempt to bring light to persistent realities of the human condition, even if the venture comes off a bit too strong.

C'mon Jutra Awards, give these kids some nods

Let’s talk about the kids. The eldest, Élise, is played by Marianne Fortier, and has the leading role as well as the strongest performance of the cast. While many of the elements of Maman est chez le coiffeur are outwardly discernable, Marianne manages to convey an inner and secret turmoil in the character of Élise that is refreshing given the obvious emotions of the mother and the father. I might as well give it away as it is obvious from his first appearance: the father is gay, and while Élise cannot directly understand this, there is some other kind of understanding in her eyes that leads her to betray his secret, unbeknownst to her, and which none of the children ever seem to notice. The most rewarding relationships in the film are hers with her younger brother, Coco (we’ll get back to him), and with a deaf man Monsieur Mouche. This latter is a touching side story, and Monsieur Mouche is the only adult character to like in the film: at first he comes off as the village idiot, but as Élise spends more time with him, we as the audience soon realize he is just deaf, and otherwise “all there”.

Monsieur Mouche makes and sells fishing flies for a living

Coco (or Conrad) Gauvin, the youngest son, is the most dependent of the three children. He also represents a jumble of disorders and mental disabilities, although not one ever seems to be clearly presented. He likes dark spaces, hits his ears to drown out noises, pees his pants, is violent with his toys, and yet seems much too vocal to have anything close to autism, as he constantly asks questions and definitions to words. Despite a failure to represent any commonly known cognitive disability, actor Élie Dupuis does a bang-up job in the role. Last of the little ones, is the middle child Benoit. While less important dramatically, he does play a mean piano - backwards! The trio, especially the eldest and youngest, give great performances that drive the drama, portray the most subtle emotions, and thus are the most moving characters in the film. This is good, since once “maman est chez le coiffeur”, the father is sort of at a loss on how to deal with them and they are left to their own devices.

Céline Bonnier is not going to like what she hears

It’s probably not fair of me to downplay Céline Bonnier’s performance as the mother, but I will. She is nominated for Supporting Actress at both the Génie and Jutra awards this year, and only the Génies got it right by giving Marianne Fortier a nod for Leading Actress. The Jutras somehow missed the mark. The character of the mother is present in the first portion of the film, and is a loving mother; though she comes off as a bit overbearing with her children. When she is enlightened by her husband’s preference, her emotion comes off in a loud scream of pain. The problem is not so much Céline Bonnier as it is how there is very little precedent for this display of pain. The husband/wife dynamic was nonexistent before then (to the point where I thought the husband may have been her brother). I felt very little for her because of this, and the agony hardly registered. Élise’s quiet resolve that hides an inner more confused pain while portraying a very strong outside character comes off as more authentic.

Maman est chez le coiffeur is one among the many Québecois films this year dealing with kids in the late 1960s. Much of the ground it gains from its very competent direction, cinematography and performances by the child actors, it loses by a seemingly blatant attempt to cram in too many mental, physical and gender issues - it’s like a mosaic of the 1960s underclass in one block. Regardless, it engages and leaves the audience hanging at the end (for better or worse). Check it out.