I honestly don't get why this got such high mark, it is a terrible movie with very little substance about a guy with internalised homophobia and another friend discovering who he is at an age that everybody has it figured out. Xavier Dolan is a good actor and a good director and the OST is amazing but the plot is dull and the movie is unnecesarily 2 hours long for nothing ever happening to advance the main narrative.

matthias had an existential crisis and made it everyone's problem

I’m writing this long after watching this film. I’ve got to be honest I don’t remember much of the story but one thing I remember is how I felt watching it. There were moments of sadness, where I felt bad for them, and other moments of warmth and love and great feelings. Those moments that make you want to take a deep breath because in someway you were moved by the scene. Overall, it is a comfort movie. I’ll definitely watch it again.

This is the first film that I have seen by Xavier Dolan. He should be very proud of this one in my humble opinion. I loved it and I loved the ending.

It's a fresh new take on the classic "don't really know where I'm going with this" movie. But don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy Matthias & Maxine. Although it is told fast and some of it is confusing, then the story is beautiful and the movie has beautiful pictures and characters in it. The confusion of the two young men is so human and it makes me think of other young love series and movies - such as HBO's depiction of Conversations with Friends. But in contrast to that, this actually feels real, human and beautiful. I would recommend this movie :) But if you know you don't like an open ending then you will get disappointed ('Cause I hated that, probably because im a sucker for a happy ending)

Sensitive acting and one of the most beautiful love scenes I've seen in film.

Real and beautiful. It shows the pain of growing up gay perfectly.

Painfully shallow and slow, the fire potential in "Matthias & Maxime" is never really saisfied in a film that sandly ends up being just (other) Dolan's assemble of beautiful faces, visual glory and exasperating screenplay.

Devastatingly beautiful and poignant, the film is stylistically diverse, well-paced, well-acted, and feels heart-achingly honest. Xavier impresses once more for the rawness of his acting and directing.

What the flip man? This was a beautiful movie then that ending just sucked. The chemistry between Matthias and maxime is phenomenal and some of the best I've seen but the ending and the very slow pacing and randomness in between them not being together and that separation throughout the film killed the films pacing. I wanted more of them but I know why the film makers decided not to because that's not how it works in real life. My thing to what I just said is real life at times is very boring and I don't care about the work of either characters or them doing random stuff that people normally do. For some people that'll work but for me they could've cut the randomness. 2 hours for a movie is long especially for this. I wanted for. This could've been amazing. They had the right ingredients and man the acting is phenomenal. Both of the main characters give Oscar worthy performances but man the script, the pacing, the realness of it killed it for me. I truly like the characters of Matthias and maxime but gosh dang it I wanted a Hollywood ending but I know that's not how life works sometimes but gosh dang it.

What the flip man? This was a beautiful movie then that ending just sucked. The chemistry between Matthias and maxime is phenomenal and some of the best I’ve seen but the ending and the very slow pacing and randomness in between them not being together and that separation throughout the film killed the films pacing. I wanted more of them but I know why the film makers decided not to because that’s not how it works in real life. My thing to what I just said is real life at times is very boring and I don’t care about the work of either characters or them doing random stuff that people normally do. For some people that’ll work but for me they could’ve cut the randomness. 2 hours for a movie is long especially for this. I wanted for. This could’ve been amazing. They had the right ingredients and man the acting is phenomenal. Both of the main characters give Oscar worthy performances but man the script, the pacing, the realness of it killed it for me. I truly like the characters of Matthias and maxime but gosh dang it I wanted a Hollywood ending but I know that’s not how life works sometimes but gosh dang it.

(Español / English) Xavier Dolan aborda en este filme varias cuestiones: la posibilidad de una salida del closet de dos hombres al cabo de una relación de años, el final de la juventud, los caminos divergentes que pueden separar a dos personas, la relación con las madres (propias y ajenas) y la responsabilidades filiales. Pero Llamentablemente todos esos planos narrativos no terminan de combinarse y potenciarse entre sí. Xavier Dolan addresses several issues in this film: the possibility of two men coming out of the closet after a relationship of years, the end of youth, the divergent paths that can separate two people, the relationship with their mothers (own and others) and affiliate responsibilities. But unfortunately all those narrative planes do not finish combining and enhancing each other. Matthias y Maxime son amigos desde la infancia. El primero (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) es un apuesto abogado con una carrera ascendente y en pareja con un mujer, mientras que el segundo (Xavier Dolan), convive con su madre adicta en recuperación (Anne Dorval) y está preparando una viaje para pasar al menos dos años en Australia. Como resultado de una apuesta, ambos deben participar de un cortometraje en el cual se besan, situación que desencadenará cuestionamientos en ambos. Xavier Dolan aborda en este filme varias cuestiones: la posibilidad de una salida del closet de dos hombres al cabo de una relación de años, el final de la juventud, los caminos divergentes que pueden separar a dos personas, la relación con las madres (propias y ajenas) y la responsabilidades filiales. El proceso entre ambos protagonistas recuerda en parte a las películas del argentino Marco Berger, con argumentos consistentes en esperar a que ambos consumen un encuentro sexual luego de acumular tensión erótica durante toda la película, sólo que la acumulación de tensión (sexual y afectiva) está casi ausente en la película de Dolan, proceso al que contribuyen sus elipsis y el abordaje de los protagonistas. El adiós a la juventud está dado por las ruidosas y festivas escenas con su grupo de amigos de diferentes extracciones sociales, en escenas demasiado prolongadas que en general no aportan al desarrollo dramático y brindan algún momento de humor algo desvaído. La relación (siempre) conflictiva con la madre es todo un tópico en las películas de Dolan: aparece también en Yo maté a mi madre y en Mommy y, en los tres casos con Anne Dorval en ese papel. Lamentablemente, además, todos esos planos no terminan de combinarse y potenciarse y algunos hasta se tornan de a ratos molestos por su dispersión. Por supuesto, la película está bien filmada, con algunas imágenes logradas, algunos detalles de edición y una interesante banda sonora. Matthias y Maxime es otro ejemplo que demuestra que Dolan funciona mejor y logra relatos más potentes y efectivos cuando opera lo lúdico, como lo han demostrado Los amores imaginarios y acaso la mejor de sus películas, Tom en la granja. Matthias and Maxime have been friends since childhood. The first (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas) is a handsome lawyer with an upward career and in a relationship with a woman, while the second (Xavier Dolan), lives with his recovering addicted mother (Anne Dorval) and is preparing a trip to spend at least two years in Australia. As a result of a bet, both must participate in a short film in which they kiss, a situation that will trigger questions in both. Xavier Dolan addresses several issues in this film: the possibility of two men coming out of the closet after a relationship of years, the end of youth, the divergent paths that can separate two people, the relationship with their mothers (own and others) and affiliate responsibilities. The process between the two protagonists is partly reminiscent of the films by Argentine Marco Berger, with arguments consisting of waiting for both to consume a sexual encounter after accumulating erotic tension throughout the film, only that the accumulation of tension (sexual and affective) is almost absent in Dolan's film, a process to which his ellipsis and the approach of the protagonists contribute. The goodbye to youth is given by the noisy and festive scenes with his group of friends from different social backgrounds, in scenes that are too long that in general do not contribute to the dramatic development and provide some moment of somewhat faded humor. The (always) conflictive relationship with the mother is a topic in Dolan's films: it also appears in I killed my mother and in Mommy and, in all three cases, with Anne Dorval in that role. Unfortunately, in addition, all these planes do not finish combining and enhancing each other and some even become annoying from time to time due to their dispersion. Of course, the movie is well shot, with some slick images, some editing details, and an interesting soundtrack. Matthias and Maxime is another example that shows that Dolan works better and achieves more powerful and effective stories when he operates the playful, as The Imaginary Loves and perhaps the best of his films, Tom at the Farm have shown.

the kiss scene is one of the most moving scene I've ever seen

Harris Dickinson is the joy in this wrought melodrama.

I'd thought 2013's Tom At The Farm had put me off Xavier Dolan's films for good, until I caught his latest, now available on MUBI, and I'm thankful for second chances. Dolan directs, writes and co-stars as Maxine, a 20-something about to leave for Australia and leaving behind his irascible mother who's recovering from addiction and a circle of friends from various economic and social strata that he grew up with, including his best friend, Matthias. Hints that their relationship is complicated surface when they end up shooting a kissing scene in their friend's sister's film project. This is queer indie drama that marinates in what was unspoken but merely referenced to in passing or via expressions of anguish, anxiety and repressed passion on the main leads' faces, and a deliberate birthmark on Maxine's that will lead to an emotional outburst with catalytic consequences. Dolan's reserved but resolute Maxine contrasts with newcomer Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas's confident on the outside yet vulnerable on the inside portrayal of Matthias. Whilst we're unsure if Matthias's girlfriend is being too liberal-minded/Canadian or just blissfully unaware and his mother is a warm and poignant contrast to Maxine's mother, at least they serve a narrative purpose; unlike the introduction of Harris Dickinson's visiting lawyer whose jarring storyline seems to go nowhere. Instead of frustration and irritation, I was engaged and almost enamoured with the film's slow build towards an increasingly revealing and tender depiction of a forbidden/unrequited love and the very effective evocation of the camaraderie between the close-knit group of friends. Andre Turpin's cinematography further provides nicely composed visual shots and pans that adds artistry and nuances to Dolan's slick and good-looking film which, abrupt and ambiguous indie-movie ending notwithstanding, demonstrates, at least for this film, a welcoming maturity and accessibility, in his work.

Absolutely brilliant. I've seen some of Dolan's earlier films, and this feels in a lot of ways like what he was building towards. A lot of the angst and erratic feelings that filled those works mature here into something truly beautiful. I liked his earlier works, but I connected to this movie. Maybe we're all a bit like Max and Matthias, one feeling so alone and lost and the other feeling so pressured and trapped. Whatever the reason, I fell in love with these characters and their relationship. I look forward to whatever Dolan does next.

Em atuação o Dolan só está abaixo em Tom À La Ferme. Esse filme me parece uma transição pra uma nova fase do Dolan e eu quero dar todo o apoio possível neste momento.

Great movie depicting the struggle of coming out in the straight world. Amazing torrid passionate scene.

Amazing movies, Xavier Dolan at his best! Great performance of all the actors!

Matthias and Maxime , what a beautiful film. The only matter I would question is the ending. It felt like a rushed conclusion to the story. Other than that , I will definitely be revisting this film again and again.