The Death and Life of John F. Donovan – ABC Film Challenge – Movies 2010s – X (Xavier Dolan) – Movie Review
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Director: Xavier Dolan
Writer: Xavier Dolan, Jacob Tierney (Screenplay)
Cast
- Kit Harington (Game of Thrones)
- Natalie Portman (Closer)
- Jacob Tremblay (Room)
- Susan Sarandon (Rocky Horror Picture Show)
- Kathy Bates (Misery)
Plot: A decade after the death of an American television star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he shared with him, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
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There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Death and Life of John F. Donovan starts when Rupert Turner (Schnetzer) arranges an interview about his new book. This takes us back to his childhood, as a young Rupert (Tremblay) who lived a child actor’s life with his mother Sam (Portman). However, he has been staying in contact with a fellow co-star of the movie John F Donovan (Harington).
Both their lives get more difficult once the letters are made public, leading to them seeing their lives shattered. Rupert must learn about the importance of his mother in his life. Meanwhile, John must realize what he has been hiding from in life.
Verdict on The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan is a drama following the lives of two different people with a connection. They worked together on a movie and continue to stay in contact with each other. However, their secret becomes public knowledge changing their lives.
This is a slow drama that shows a strange relationship between two people. It gets to show how their lives get turned upside when a secret comes out and how they struggle to deal with it. we get plenty of bigger discussions about the relationship between two people. However, it does feel like both are not as connected as they want to be. This disconnection makes it difficult to get connected to the story, leaving us feeling flat by the end.
Final Thoughts – The Death and Life of John F. Donovan leaves us with a bitter disconnect.
