Tom at the Farm Movie Review: Contradiction & Ambiguity Haunt Viewer Experience in Fascinating Film
The opening of "Tom at the Farm" showcases a faceless character painting a message to a deceased lover claiming that a part of his soul has died and that a replacement is necessary.
At the apex of the message, the screen goes black and the character utters an expletive that suggests his decision to nullify his previous statement. In a rather fascinating cinematic touch, director Xavier Dolan has informed his viewer that contradiction and the ambiguity it sows will form the central theme of his film.
At the center of the drama is Dolan's own portrayal of titular character heading to visit the family of his deceased lover. No one seems to know how Tom's lover Guillaume died and the story only makes mention of an "accident." Moreover, the characters do not seem to know one another or themselves in this thriller that hints at a brewing and dangerous love-hate relationship between Tom and Guillaume's brother Francis.
Tom's sense of identity is rattled throughout, his emotions a blur of contradiction and constant questioning. He covers for Guillaume's lie, thus nullifying his own existence in front of his lover's mother Agathe. At certain points he takes on the role of the fake girlfriend Sarah, thus suggesting an identity crisis that might also be rooted in sexual identification as well. His relationship with Francis moves from violent to disturbing co-dependency with Tom seemingly wanting to stick around and not only help Francis, but support him on his farm. Their relationship is marred by conflicting images of life and death. Tom's initial sight of Francis is seeing the farm pulling along a dead cow. In a latter scene, the two help give birth to a baby animal.
Francis bullies Tom and yet wishes to dance with him in a scene fraught with sexual tension. Later on Francis tries to get Tom completely drunk and then seeks to strangle him, both characters apparently getting off on the violent proximity of death. In this particular scene, Dolan makes fascinating use of altering the aspect ratio in the middle of the scene, the frame growing smaller and more crammed as Tom is strangled.
The female characters are little more than pawns in this deadly dance between the men. Francis notes on several occasions that Agathe is not well and is holding him back from making a life of his own. Even the real Sarah winds up being little more than an object for both Tom and Francis. While she offers some respite for the titular character in his struggle with the truth, she becomes a sexual object to Francis and his own frustrations.
As noted ambiguity sows its seed throughout the movie and this could not be more present than in Tom's own decision at the film's end. As he witnesses upon his arrival at the start of the film, Tom suddenly finds himself alone on the farm, a land that is supposed to produce life, completely devoid of any human contact or interaction. Tom suddenly opts for departure and despite one final quasi-confrontation with Francis, he makes his great escape back to Montreal. Yet as the film's final credits show, Tom does not seem completely settled and remains in his car, his destination still relatively unknown.
Dolan's films are not afraid of their emotional extremes and this one certainly exudes a tremendous amount of it with Francis and Tom's encounters oozing with sexual violence. Pierre-Yves Cardinal is menacing in this role and yet he looks as vulnerable as every other person in this movie. The opening moments of the film showcase Tom painting out a message to his beloved Guillaume, emphasizing the loss of an important part of his self. Those words are themselves expressed in Cardinal's Francis whose frustrations hint at a jealousy toward Tom and yet a feeling that through his own connection with Guillaume, Tom might be the link to that missing piece in Francis' life.
Tom himself is a rather unstable youth, constantly paralyzed by the fear and awe that Francis inspires in him. Lise Roy's Agathe, on the other hand, is almost a spectre of death, expressionless except in some rather painful moments when she suddenly lashes out at her son or in her final confrontation, where Dolan's camera gets uncomfortably close to all of his actors; it is at this moment that one feels the balloon of lies growing overburdened and ready to explode. That remains afloat for the rest of the film (or seemingly does) only emphasizes the film's constant ducking of its own questions.
Films layered with unanswered questions such as "Tom at the Farm" can be frustrating for most audiences. However, this film's lingering questions hang around in the viewer's consciousness, haunting them and maintaining the interaction with the work longer after the viewing experience.
Will Audiences Like it?
Xavier Dolan fans will undoubtedly marvel at the cinematic power of the movie and its vibrant and varied score (a trademark of the filmmaker). People who struggle with intensely emotional films could certainly find themselves overwhelmed by the character dynamics, but could be turned off by the film's numerous unanswered questions.
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!