If you’ve been following the career of actor-filmmaker Xavier Dolan, you’re probably aware that his newest film, “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan,” has had nothing short of a terrible production. While fans will still have to wait a bit more to see the fruits of his labor, judging the film based solely on its production, which was riddled with drama, it would appear that Dolan had an uphill battle every step of the way to get his film finished. And in a new interview, he sheds some light on the reasons for the troubled shoot, post-production, and release of his highly-anticipated film.
READ MORE: Xavier Dolan’s ‘The Death and Life of John F. Donovan’ [TIFF Review]
Speaking to French outlet Télérama, Dolan detailed the troubles he experienced while making ‘John F. Donovan.’ As mentioned, the film has been making headlines for the last year, as the film toiled in post-production for months, resulting in Jessica Chastain being cut, the film missing high-profile festival debuts, and ultimately, a mixed reception from critics. But according to Dolan, there was a lot more going on than we were even aware of.
“For the first time, everything was painful and problematic from start to finish, from funding to post-production, and beyond,” said Dolan. “It would be inelegant to name precisely the people who were problematic, and I am finally proud of the end result, but we had to make very difficult choices. I lived all the disappointments that I could live, humanly and artistically. By switching to a large budget, a fragmented shooting, in English and on two continents, I had to face my own ignorance, inexperience, incompetence. Everything was new to me, I had the impression go out of my kitchen, that is to say, leaving my artisanal practice of the cinema.”
It’s interesting to see the filmmaker take a large portion of the blame on himself due to his self-admitted “ignorance, inexperience, incompetence.” However, as he alludes to, and as has been reported, Dolan was also met with producers and distributors that didn’t seem to share his same vision. And yes, the filmmaker said he’s proud of his work, but you can’t help but wonder what might have happened if Dolan was given free rein to do his own thing, without outside pressures.
Fans will get a chance to see the finished film, “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan,” when it hits theaters in France and other European markets in March. A US release has yet to be announced.