Xavier Dolan’s ‘Mommy’ considered the frontrunner for the Cannes Palme d’Or

Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan is big in France. The 25-year-old Montreal native has been a darling of the Cannes Film Festival ever since his award-winning 2009 fest debut “I Killed My Mother,” and he now appears to be poised for even greater success. Dolan’s latest film “Mommy” is rumoured to be this year’s frontrunner for Cannes’ coveted Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) award.

Touching on themes that Dolan has addressed in past films, "Mommy" tells the story of a single mother (Anne Dorval) struggling to raise her troubled and violent teenage son (Antoine-Olivier Pilon). Things begin to change for the family when a neighbour (Suzanne Clement) offers to help. The film premiered this week at the glitzy Mediterranean festival to rave reviews from both critics and famous attendees.

Variety critic Peter Debruge called the film "A funny, heartbreaking and, above all, original work." The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Dalton labelled it "an explosively emotional portrait of a troubled mother-son relationship" and Dolan's "most substantial work to date." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "a splashy, transgressive treat" of "surprising emotional depth."

"Mommy" is the fourth Dolan film to screen at Cannes and the first to screen in competition for the Palme d’Or, and if it wins the prize, it would be the first time that a Canadian movie has ever done so. Last year's winner, Abdellatif Kechiche's coming of age drama "Blue Is The Warmest Color," went on to wide acclaim and award season success.

What would a Cannes win mean for the film? Well, its arthouse leanings will probably limit the family drama's box office appeal, but the Palme d’Or win would instantly make it a Best Foreign Language film contender at the Oscars next year.

The win, which would make Dolan the youngest Palme d’Or winner ever, could also have big implications for filmmaker's career. Though he’s much loved in France and his native Quebec, Dolan is still largely an unknown quantity in the rest of Canada, the United States, and elsewhere in the world.

Though “Mommy” may not be standard Hollywood fare, Tinsel Town would no doubt take notice of a hot young filmmaker making it big on the international stage. Don’t expect to see him working in Hollywood any time soon, but the win would go a long way toward attracting major Hollywood talent looking for an interesting project to take on. Talent like Oscar-winning “Zero Dark Thirty” star Jessica Chastain, who lavished praise on the film after its French premiere.

“How incredible!” Chastain told Variety. “I just got goosebumps thinking about it. I’m really excited about that filmmaker—I hope to work with him. Whenever I see an actor, a director or a writer do something innovative and change the rules, it gives me a little adrenaline push.”

Expect "Mommy" to have its Canadian premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in September.