'

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

Play trailer

2:50

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan

R

Released Dec 13, 2019

2h 3m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

19%

Tomatometer

32 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

A young actor reminisces about a dead American TV star and the correspondence they shared.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan finds writer-director Xavier Dolan flailing at profundity with a technically assured drama that never makes sense of its own ideas.

Read Critics Reviews

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

From its contrived structure to its forced speechifying, this story... never acquires the emotional potency or coherence its themes demand.

Dec 12, 2019

Full Review

Mike D'Angelo

AV Club

In any case, what remains of John F. Donovan is a barely coherent mess, and so eager for your approval that it's hard to feel anything but sorry for it.

Rated: C-

Dec 11, 2019

Full Review

Peter Debruge

Variety

A work of stunning technique eclipsed by its increasingly jaw-dropping solipsism...

Sep 13, 2018

Full Review

Ben Turner

The Pink Lens

Nothing but a prestige piece for a fictional character with inexplicable iconoclasm and half-baked coming-of-age schmaltz that tries really hard - and fails - to pluck at the heart strings. This is a fairly major misfire for Dolan.

Rated: 2/5

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Jason Adams

My New Plaid Pants

Man this thing flounders. My only thought at its end was what, pray tell, was the point of all this?

Jul 14, 2021

Full Review

Luke Gorham

In Review Online

These moments lead us to Dolan the pedant, whose explicit articulation of ideas obscures a career-long attention to character and form.

Jul 29, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Sergio A

Despite being a fan of Xavier Dolan, it’s almost painful to see how much emphasis was placed on visual style, wasting the talent of brilliant actors in a storyline that tries to evoke emotion but ultimately makes no sense. Even the music feels pretentious, there are dramatic scenes paired with music that belongs in a comedy. There’s no real connection.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/25

Full Review

John B

I thought it was ok overall as the story started out interesting, but never really seemed to lead anywhere with the characters and by the end of it, I still wasn't really sure who John Donovan was.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/14/23

Full Review

jelisije j

The life and death of a closet gay book writer celebrity and the young boy who tells his tale of the man who gave him the courage to be himself.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

stewart m

Lots of really good actors trying to make a schmaltzy script work. Cringeworthy at times.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The film tried too hard to be profound - and instead was simply boring.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Splendid film and acting. It may be difficult to understand for those simple-minded people who don't get the underneath details and messages from the film, so it doesn't really surprise me those people got frustrated and talked bad about it, also, being an unexpected gay story, it could have been an unwanted thing for those homophobic people out there.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Xavier Dolan

Director

Kit Harington

John F. Donovan

Natalie Portman

Sam Turner

Jacob Tremblay

Rupert Turner

Susan Sarandon

Grace Donovan

Kathy Bates

Barbara Haggermaker

The Lost Daughter

94%

56%

The Lost Daughter

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Lost Daughter

The Artist's Wife

59%

73%

The Artist's Wife

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Artist's Wife

An Imperfect Murder

40%

9%

An Imperfect Murder

Watchlist

Shepherds and Butchers

60%

53%

Shepherds and Butchers

Watchlist

Loveless

94%

84%

Loveless

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan: Trailer 1

2:50

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan: International Trailer 1

2:46

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A young actor reminisces about a dead American TV star and the correspondence they shared.

Director: Xavier Dolan
Producer: Xavier Dolan, Nancy Grant, Joe Iacono, Lyse Lafontaine
Screenwriter: Xavier Dolan, Jacob Tierney
Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Production Co: Warp Films, Lyla Films
Rating: R (Some Sexual Material|Language Throughout)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 13, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2019
Runtime: 2h 3m

Most Popular at Home Now