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It's Only the End of the World

Play trailer Poster for It's Only the End of the World 2016 1h 35m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
44% Tomatometer 86 Reviews 56% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A writer returns to his hometown, planning to announce his upcoming death to his family. As resentments surface, fits and feuds unfold until all attempts at empathy are sabotaged by people's incapacity to listen and love.
It's Only the End of the World

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Critics Consensus

It's Only the End of the World is stocked with talent and boasts a story steeped in conflict, but the end result proves a disappointing misfire from writer-director Xavier Dolan.

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Critics Reviews

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Adam Nayman Cinema Scope This pumped-up chamber drama feels like Dolan's stab at a Bergman movie, and it's predictably all cries and no whispers, with a few especially egregious sequences and a final shot with laughably pat symbolism. Sep 28, 2017 Full Review Richard Brody New Yorker A stellar cast of French actors is mainly left to run lines and hyperventilate in Xavier Dolan's turgid yet occasionally affecting melodrama. Jul 3, 2017 Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) Dolan favours so many extreme, spittle-flecked closeups of shouting family members that it leaves you gasping for breath and longing for a wide shot. Rated: 3/5 Feb 26, 2017 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film It’s Only the End of the World is an emotional, moving film which is as much about end-of-life reflections as it is about failures to communicate. Rated: 4/5 Aug 13, 2024 Full Review Ben Turner The Pink Lens Though not to the standard of Dolan's earlier films, it makes for engaging viewing... especially if you like watching people scream at each other. Rated: 4/5 Sep 2, 2021 Full Review Kip Mooney College Movie Review The only interesting part of the film is Dolan's choice of music cues, and that's more for their oddness than their quality. Rated: C- Aug 24, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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rob d This elegaic film received mixed reviews at the time of its release. For the life of me, I don't understand why. With the possible exception of The Death and Life of John Donovan, I think this film shows Xavier Dolan at his very best. True, this movie is somewhat of a slow burn (apparently a little too slow for some reviewers). But the flame burns bright. A work of remarkable style and sensibility, in my opinion. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/02/24 Full Review Somebody S Bravo, Dolan. Everything in the film is perfect. The soundtrack, the casting, the acting, the camerawork. A sad movie that makes you want to live. The dialogue scene with the mother can be watched endlessly. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Ashes A I could relate to a lot of it from personal experiences. It was a good movie but nothing special! Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/26/22 Full Review isla s This is very much a drama, a family drama which is heavily dialogue based and depicts a somewhat nasty and perhaps intolerant, certainly selfish, father figure and numerous others. It is understandably sombre and thought provoking at times. Its a little slow moving in terms of the plot but I thought its a relatively decent depiction of a clearly dysfunctional family. Its worth seeing but it may not appeal to all, unless your keen on films with characters talking at length, challenging one another - family confrontations and lots of shouting/swearing. I can't say its a film I'm likely to think of much in the future as such but its certainly not bad. I found the final scenes somewhat moving but I'm keeping my rating as it is as overall I'd say its not an especially gripping or overly memorable film. Perhaps it was a bit too bleak for me, even though I do tend to like dark dramas. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review saige e Some families - including the parents - are like baby birds, their mouths open, waiting to be fed. After three close-viewings I remain convinced that this is a masterpiece that represents an exquisitely painful family drama. The containment of interior pain is pitched against social pressure and one feeds the latter. The story pivots on the fact that liberation is constrained by the wants and desires of those who cannot cope with the freedom of all their members. In this unsafe context, the central character cannot reveal that which he needs to reveal. The birds are striving to survive and the social structure continues to fail to provide a safe nest. Give me this over shallow, always. Writing, directing, acting - utterly mesmerizing, astonishingly brilliant. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member La partenza di questo dramma francese penalizza il resto della pellicola senza ombra di dubbio. Si è catapultati in una stanza con i più famosi attori francesi che dopo pochi minuti iniziano a litigare tra di loro senza lasciare nemmeno il tempo di capire la situazione, creando un contesto quasi grottesco per le evidenti forzature che presentano i personaggi. Col passare dei minuti, il racconto si divide in quattro parti, ognuna dedicata ad un membro della famiglia, che col giusto spazio e dei buoni dialoghi aumenta la qualità del film. Il finale è forte per i toni e per la crudezza, ma allo stesso tempo lascia con una nota di incompiutezza generale. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews
It's Only the End of the World

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis A writer returns to his hometown, planning to announce his upcoming death to his family. As resentments surface, fits and feuds unfold until all attempts at empathy are sabotaged by people's incapacity to listen and love.
Director
Xavier Dolan
Producer
Nancy Grant, Xavier Dolan, Sylvain Corbeil, Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz, Michel Merkt
Screenwriter
Xavier Dolan
Production Co
Sons of Manual, MK2 Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2017
Runtime
1h 35m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)