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I’ve never been the biggest fan of Xavier Dolan and I outright hated his last film, so upon hearing that The Death and Life of John F. Donovan was already opening to bad reviews from other peers at TIFF, I thought I already knew what I was set to expect. Yet instead I came out thinking that as messy as it may have been, this also happens to be one of Dolan’s best films. Surprisingly, it was rather easy for me to have made such a statement because it seems to be a perfect summary of what I find Dolan himself to be – and it’s also set to divide people all the more. But because of what a story like this can say about where Xavier Dolan comes from, I think it’s also fitting enough to say that there’s a lot of heart to be recognized in a story like this, and for the most part – it also happens to be in the right place. Which is more than I know I can say about many of Dolan’s other films, because I’m also looking forward to seeing another English-language effort by him now.