Going into its Canadian wide release, Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée’s C.R.A.Z.Y. has already managed a great deal of success. It was recently submitted as Canada’s entry into the Foreign Language category at the Academy Awards, and was named the best Canadian feature at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Its release in Quebec has earned over $5 million at the box office-the equivalent of roughly $230 million in the U.S., a feat matched this year by only the latest Star Wars movie and War of the Worlds.
More incredible is that C.R.A.Z.Y.’s content is far from blockbuster material. Essentially a character study of a family over the course of two decades, there are no Jedis or Scientologists anywhere to be found.
C.R.A.Z.Y. begins on Christmas Day, 1960, with the birth of the fourth Beaulieu son, Zachary (played with remarkable sensitivity by the director’s son, Emile Vallée). Zac quickly becomes the viewer’s eyes, analyzing his French-Catholic family with an endearing blend of intelligence and innocence.
His mother (the lovely Danielle Proulx) is certain Zac has a gift from God, and goes as far as informing their neighbours that he can heal their physical ailments. His older brothers (each fulfilling a familial stereotype-the nerd, the jock, the wild child) pay little attention to anything beyond themselves.
This strengthens Zac’s relationship with his father, Gervais (Michel Côté), who Zac considers to be quite “cool” despite his insistence on singing along to Charles Aznavour at family gatherings. But Gervais quickly becomes disenchanted by Zac’s gay tendencies, which sends the lad (and the viewer) into a cynical tailspin on all things Beaulieu.
Ten years later, Zac (now played by Marc-André Grondin) is now an angsty teenager with more blatant sexual confusion. The Beaulieu clan has not matured gracefully-there’s marital tension between the parents, and “wild child” Raymond is exhibiting some serious drug problems. While the first half of C.R.A.Z.Y. expresses a lighter and more accessible side of the Beaulieus, the second half gets writer/director Vallée’s point across.
Despite clichéd themes such as religious imagery (the Jesus-as-a-gay-man thing is hardly revolutionary), coming out, drug addiction, a sympathetic mother and an overbearing father, the film manages to blend it all together into a well-crafted and surprisingly organized narrative about the importance of family and the faith people have in one another.
It helps that Gervais and Zac’s relationship remains at the core of the story, as both actors make good use of the clever screenplay and create a harshly realistic portrayal of the uptight father/gay son relationship that manages to be empathetic from both sides.
C.R.A.Z.Y.’s completion was delayed when the rights to the wide range of nostalgic music (Patsy Cline, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, etc.) became difficult for the small French-Canadian production to obtain. But the wait (aside from the music clearances, the film took over a decade to make, largely because Vallée laboured for years over the script) was actually a smart choice by Vallée and his team, as the film’s most honourable attribute is its authenticity.
Some obvious formulas aside, C.R.A.Z.Y.’s music, wardrobe, and art direction paint an honest portrayal of a middle-class Montreal family over a period of time.
Vallée’s subtle direction and the enthusiastic performances by everyone involved help C.R.A.Z.Y. rise above being just another minor Canadian indie flick, which is likely why it has already been a success even before most people have had a chance to see it.
