C.R.A.Z.Y.

'C.R.A.Z.Y.' was always going to be a difficult film for me to review. Even in spite of it's rather humble and unheard-of status, for a great deal of audiences, this film is (sadly) going to soar graciously over their heads without even a second thought. Set in French speaking Quebec (with English subtitles), 'C.R.A.Z.Y.' follows the life story of Zac, the fourth of five brothers, as he struggles through his younger years, the relationship with his family (especially his father) and his developing sexuality. Now at this point, it would be very easy wax lyrical about how the plot spoke to me personally and how I could identify with the character through some of my own experiences as a gay man. Truth be told though, I think there are so many elements of this film that will resonate with absolutely anybody's life, that in the end, sexual orientation becomes almost meaningless. In fact, for me, that wasn't the draw of the film at all. What made it so different, and so engaging, was the supreme reality of the story being told; the acute believability of the characters, the astonishingly accurate insight into boyhood, the plausibility of the situations, and ultimately, the credibility of the relationships which, at the end of the day, is what really makes up the heart of the story.

Fortunately, given the scale of the task to get the realism across, the cast are more than up for the challenge. Having watched this, I'm quite ashamed to say that I'm not more au fait with French Canadian cinema and the cast lists that such films might attract, but there really was no weak link in this one. The strength of Zac's performances (at every age) and the exceptionally well defined relationships between the other characters are a real testament to the writing and direction (perhaps not coincidentally, the work of the same person). One other particular strength, that makes a big impact throughout, is the strong association with certain music. In that space, Patsy Cline and David Bowie become notably recurring themes, which tie the story together neatly, regardless of decade. In fact, music was deemed to be such an important part of the film, that the director took a pay cut in order to fund the acquisition of the music rights, which in the end totalled about 10% of the entire production budget. Fortunate then that the music became a real asset.

It's time to play 'Guess The Decade'. Who had money on the 70's?

In all then, 'C.R.A.Z.Y.' seems to me like it's been a little misjudged. Perhaps it's big selling point has actually been to blame for keeping it outside of the limelight, and generating a much smaller cult following among those who can more openly identify with the characters on screen. Speaking as 'one of them', that is always going to be a little difficult for me to judge, but either way, the refreshing realism and lack of any kind of reconciliatory happy-ending grandiose (more typical of Hollywood), does deliver a really powerful and engaging story. Sexuality does indeed play a role, but certainly not enough of one for people to justify overlooking the film.