The Death & Life of John F. Donovan

2018

Action / Drama

48
IMDb Rating 6.1/10 10 8225 8.2K

movie business celebrity hollywood lgbt actor gay

Plot summary

A decade after the death of an American TV star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he once shared with the former, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.

Director

Xavier Dolan Photo
Xavier Dolan

Top cast

Natalie Portman Photo
Natalie Portman as Sam Turner
Dakota Jamal Wellman Photo
Dakota Jamal Wellman as Eric
Thandie Newton Photo
Thandie Newton as Audrey Newhouse
Jane Wheeler Photo
Jane Wheeler as Aunt Anne
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1.07 GB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 2
1.06 GB
1280*538
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 3
1.93 GB
1904*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
2 hr 3 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by SnoopyStyle 6 / 10

great cast ok movie

This movie takes place mostly over two main timelines. In 2017, Rupert Turner (Ben Schnetzer) has written a book about his correspondent letters with late actor John F. Donovan (Kit Harington) and journalist Audrey Newhouse (Thandiwe Newton) is interviewing him. During the mid-2000's, John is closeted star with a hit show. Sam Turner (Natalie Portman) is raising her son Rupert Turner (Jacob Tremblay) in England. Grace Donovan (Susan Sarandon) is John's mother and Barbara Haggermaker (Kathy Bates) is his manager.This seems to have one layer too many. I don't think the present-day shell is necessary. The story is already bifurcated into Rupert's story and John's story. It takes an hour before the story gets to the point. It needs to get there a bit faster. Dropping the present day story would help a lot. The scandal unfolds wrong. The aftermath of the assault needs to have more space instead of just a comment. Haggermaker would not handle it in that way if she knows anything about public relations. The movie reaches a high level with the stolen letters and couldn't maintain it.
Reviewed by skelton581 7 / 10

Interesting Character Study

Such an interesting film. This piece by Dolan examines celebrity, need desire, and the overwhelming struggle to be true to ones own self.Is it overly long? Does it rely on too much well known pop music? Despite this this film will be known as a gem years from now I predict.
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