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C.R.A.Z.Y. Movie Review

C.R.A.Z.Y. is a 2005 Canadian coming-of-age drama film directed by Jean-Marc Vallee and starring Marc-Andre Grondin and Michel Cote. It’s a strong, technically accomplished period piece.

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“I don’t smoke or drink or swear anymore.

Fuck! I left my bag of weed at the pub“

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A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father’s values. This is one of those coming-of-age movies that follow an entire growing up period from boyhood to adulthood. I personally don’t love this format, but at least it was very well executed for the most part.

It’s pretty much a film that they don’t make any more for better and for worse. The movie is so populist in approach that it failed to properly deal with its themes, resulting in a crowd-pleaser that is definitely very engaging to watch and charming, but hardly sophisticated at anything that it does. It’s also very detailed in its period piece details and quite specific in the protagonist’s personal journey, which to me wasn’t all that relatable.

Marc-Andre Grondin delivered a surprisingly strong performance in the main role that is well written and memorable. You see, Zachary isn’t just your regular protagonist, but a person that felt very much real and it was so interesting seeing such an extensive focus on his hairstyling and clothing that changed throughout the runtime, deftly accompanying his life transitions.

But I wished that we saw more development for his brothers as only one of the four got any development and that was Raymond. The dynamic between the two is complex and quite interesting to follow. The mother herself got some moving moments while the father was quite a commendable presence thanks to strong writing and excellent acting work from Michel Cote. The movie explores their tumultuous relationship very well, thought he happy ending felt overly convenient of a resolution.

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C.R.A.Z.Y. flows well and is consistently involving, but again in relying so extensively on period detail, it failed to properly deal with themes of growing up and facing your sexuality. The Israel section was typical while the entire third act suffered from predictable plot beats. The costumes, hairstyling and soundtrack all mirrored the 60s and 70s era flawlessly while the editing and directing were also excellent. But it’s not among my favorite Jean-Marc Valle movies as it lacked authenticity and sophistication.