Monday 3 December 2012

The Best Scene In Laurence Anyways: Visage - Fade to Grey



Laurence Anyways, seen at the London Film Festival earlier in the year, was a surprise disappointment, especially considering how much I rated Xavier Dolan's previous film, Heartbeats. I found it ambitious but ultimately hollow, too long and uninvolving. Only one scene has really stuck with me ever since and it is available on YouTube. Not that I am saying you should skip the film completely and only watch this scene below (Of COURSE not!)...


The cruel irony of it all is that the scene below is perfectly superfluous to the story and will only fuel the arguments of those who claim the young Canadian director is all style and no substance (as if there were anything wrong with that!). Its only vague purpose is to introduce us to the new glam lifestyle and party jet-set social circles Suzanne Clément's character now evolve in.



It is exhilarating and wonderfully shot, brilliantly capturing the essence of the 80's (or what life looked like through the prism of a music video of the time anyway), which is all the more remarkable as Xavier Dolan was not even born in those days!

And what an entrance! Next time I have a job interview, a date, or merely want to make an impression in a crowded tube carriage, I shall go in levitating, wearing a blue cape with black stripes like a gothic 80's Kate Bush wannabe, looking deep then spin around as a crowd of extras hired from the beautiful people of Montreal look on, with Fade to Grey by Visage blaring out! Here it is, enjoy...


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