Movie Review: C.R.A.Z.Y 10/10
One of my all time favourite
Canadian movies is the 2005 film, C.R.A.Z.Y. co-written and directed by
Jean-Marc Vallée. I have seen this French-Canadian flick approximately 12 times
and still get excited when I see it listed in the television guide. The title
comes from the Patsy Cline album of the same name - an album the main character,
Zach Beaulieu’s, father buys as an expensive import and treasures until Zach inadvertently
breaks the vinyl. (Zach is superbly
played by Marc-André Grondin.)
The movie is a coming-of-age story that
follows the sturm und drang of Zach’s adolescence into a adulthood. Given Zach’s
staunch Catholic upbringing, one immediately senses that all is not well when Zach
begins exhibiting homosexual tendencies. Soon after requesting a baby carriage as
a gift, as well as being caught dressing up in his mother’s clothes, Zach experiences
his father, Gervais Beaulieu, (played by Michael Coté) pulling away from their formerly
close relationship, furthermore withdrawing his affections. Zach is clearly confused
by Gervais’ withdrawal and attempts to determine what he’s done wrong. Meanwhile,
Gervais (also confused) blames Zach’s mother for his effeminate behaviour citing
the mother’s coddling, as well as her indulgence of Zach’s nurturing side. Zach
also has an extremely volatile relationship with his second eldest brother, Raymond
(played by Pierre-Luc Brillant). Raymond is confused by Gervais’ special treatment
of Zach as Raymond discovers his usually calm father goes off the deep end
whenever Zach is called a ‘fag’. Many fist fights erupt as a result of this
word being thrown at Zach.
Everyone seems to have their specific
triggers and rather than openly address things like relationships, drug
addiction, sexual orientation, lying, religion, etc., they tip-toe around each
other, trying to avoid any trigger discussions. Familial love is shown during
the men’s’ fierce defense of each other, usually behind each others’ backs.
Often these physical scraps erupt over misinterpretations of alleged insults, or
miscommunications. Too much damage results from their actions so they are unable
to undo these mistakes.
Along with being preoccupied
with his sexual identity, Zach has to endure being 'special' as he is declared to have “special healing powers”
for burns, cuts etc. The household phone is often ringing with family and neighbors
calling to ask Zach to recite his special prayers for their injury-of-the-moment.
Of course, they telephone again to inform him the injury is healing. Zach comes
to realize that the injuries inevitably get better whether he thinks of the
person or not, but his mother cannot bear to believe he is ordinary as she has
always felt Zach was different due to his birthday being on Christmas day, and having
died - then lived - during birth. He was also born with a white streak in his hair and
this lack of pigmentation was further proof of his specialness.
The film studies the brothers’,
Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary, and Yvan, different personalities and
interactions. Zach both despises and idolizes Raymond for his wild, tough-guy
image. While maturing, Zach notices subtle attractions towards certain males
and the occasional female. These brief glimpses cause Zach to ponder the
possibility of being gay, causing him to pray fervently to God and Jesus to make
him anything BUT gay. My heart breaks for this attractive young man as he is
fighting so hard against everything that comes naturally to him. Again I
identify with Zach because, in his desperation to be straight, he is making all
sorts of side-deals with God. As well, he is setting up mini feats that - if he
is successful in completing them - will pronounce him as heterosexual. How many times, when I was desperate for a specific
outcome, did I make little agreements with God to ensure positive results? I
never did explain to my mother I was merely fulfilling my end of a deal with
God, when I was attending my friends’ church functions every Friday night for
several weeks.
Even the English subtitles do
not take away from the film’s humor, as well as its forays into self-discovery
and loss. I identify closely with the main character’s pain of adolescence
despite not having anything in common with him or with the general theme of the
movie. Perhaps it’s the musical timeline that makes me feel so connected to
this film. I especially empathize when the main character – while obliviously
lip-syncing to Davie Bowe’s “Space Oddity” - is abruptly shut down by his brother,
to the cheering of the entire neighborhood. How many times was I spared the
humiliation of being caught lip synching to my favourite band?
A lot of the film’s humor, as
well as tragedy, is derived from the lack of communication and the hypersensitivity
between the characters. A couple of times Zach’s innocent actions are
incorrectly identified as homosexual intimacy by over-sensitive brothers and
father. The father is further conflicted between his love for his children and
his refusal to accept homosexuality as anything but a choice. Even Raymond’s drug
addiction is accepted before Zach’s hedonistic sexual identity. The movie deftly
shadows Zach’s search for his identity and his need to belong: during his
sessions with a psychiatrist, during his live-in romance and experimentation
with a woman, and finally during his escape to Jerusalem where he accepts that
he is, indeed, gay.
The movie ends with several
bittersweet moments, the most ironic being when Zach is able to finally replace
his father’s Patsy Cline album, Crazy (although it took him a trip to Jerusalem
to find it). No sooner had Zach’s father happily accepted this gift from him – thus
opening the door for other reconciliations - when Zach’s brother Yvan, drops
and breaks the record album, mirroring Zach’s incident over a decade prior.
This is when Zach disbelievingly connects Patsy Cline’s title to the first
initials of the boys’ names: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary, and Yvan = CRAZY.
I would love to read others' reviews of this movie. I consider it one of Canada's finest offerings.
