There's quite an amazing singular force that propels the film forward, but in my view there are just too many bells and whistles to distract us from going deeper into the psyches of the characters and the heart of the subject matter. These distractions - stylized images and accompanying melodies - make the film feel more like a music video. The borrowed songs/pieces already have a life on its own, so sometimes they feel like an easy way out to build up emotions/expectations. I know overstimulation is sometimes part of the "style", but perhaps Dolan should sometimes trust that the acting, pacing, environment and diegetic sounds alone can carry a scene, pom-poms are not always necessary.

Dolan was very young when he directed this, and the overambition shows.

It is Canadian prodigy Xavier Dolan's third feature, after I KILLED MY MOTHER (2009, 7/10) and HEARTBEATS (2010, 5/10),the first one he doesn't hog a leading role for himself. LAURENCE ANYWAYS chronicles a 10 year up-and-down relationship between Laurence Alia (Poupaud),a man with GID (Gender Identity Disorder) and determines to dress up like a woman, and his girlfriend Fred Belair (Clément) from 1989 to the looming millennium.

Scale wise it is Dolan's boldest and most ambitious one (save his two subsequent films TOM AT THE FARM 2013 and MOMMY 2014, which I haven't seen yet),extending around 168 minutes, Dolan strenuously spells out a panorama of struggles of Laurence and Fred, for the former, it is a life-or-death judgement call, without opening up to embrace his true id, life is pointless and meaningless to him; more thoughtfully and unconventionally, the film generously grants maximum space for the latter, to zoom in on Fred's striving for breath and co-existence when her world is equally capsized by the blunt decision made by the man she loves.

As early as the opening introduction of Laurence through onlookers (deceitfully) spontaneous responses till the very end, Laurence and Fred separately exit the barroom with posh slo-motion against the brisk gust, stylistically Dolan comes much more at ease with his ostentatious aesthetic codes, Day-Glo disco, subdued lighting, kitschy ornamentation, pop art, avant-garde tableaux vivant, chic party, campy or crammed locale confinement, highlighted by Les Five Roses, and all aided by a killing mixtape (from Fever Ray, The Cure, Visage to Moderat) to leaven the zeitgeist and propel the storytelling.

It is a pure melodrama, spearheaded by two impressive leading performances by Poupaud and Clément, especially the latter, her explosion which bookends the midway of this drawn-out feature is intensely electrifying and utterly breathtaking. She also impeccably handles the unvoiced implosion of her character, shepherded by hairstylists, costume designers and Dolan's unerring determination to lay bare all the subtlety with abstract symbolism and his own perceptive sensations.

Most of the time, Poupaud conceals his handsome contour under a ridiculous wig, heavy make- up doesn't help either, but nothing can hide Laurence's intrepidity, sensitivity and charm through his less flamboyant but more realistic rendition. Nathalie Baye, plays Laurence's negligent mother, pungently bespeaks both parenting and gender-identity are not innately fitting to anyone.

LAURENCE ANYWAYS is a solid corroboration of Dolan's prowess to explore and conquer a wider scope out of his comfort zone, visually distinct and artistically eclectic, although in any event he needs to be polished up a little bit and get himself out of the self-indulgent pitfall, let me just suppress a dash of jealousy and get ready to rejoice in the wunderkind's another output, hopefully is the much-anticipated TOM AT THE FARM.

This is very long boring movie. It is the story of a handsome man slowly turning himself into an ugly woman. About 20% of the footage is watching people frantically smoke tobacco. I have no idea why the director considered this diverting.

The characters are all prone to histrionics and long rambling monologues that make no sense. They are just emoting and over-acting for the camera. The only character I cared at all about is Laurence him/herself, and he is a fruitcake without a drop of common sense.

Nothing much happens. The excitement comes when periodically the characters move to new digs.

There are two spectacular Felliniesque scenes where they hired every good looking actor in Canada, then ploughed the camera through them like a speedboat.

In general, it is indulgent, overdone and way way too long. Perhaps it would make more sense if you knew French, rather than reading the subtitles as I did.