AllMovie

A working-class Quebec mother struggles to care for her troubled teenage son until a chance encounter with their shy neighbor offers unexpected hope for a brighter future in this affecting drama from director Xavier Dolan. Diane (Anne Dorval) is a single, uneducated mother whose emotionally volatile son Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon) resides in a government institution for troubled youths. Determined to care for Steve despite the challenges he poses, Diane brings him back home, where his increasingly erratic mood swings pose more of a problem than she anticipated. Just when it begins to appear as if Diane has reached her emotional breaking point, an encounter with her withdrawn neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clement), a teacher on sabbatical, offers hope for a brighter future. Unfortunately for all three, a violent transgression from Steve's past soon comes back to haunt him, casting a bleak shadow over a situation that had appeared to be improving.