Tom at the farm - a lean, chilling riff on the psychological horrors of Alfred Hitchcock

At only 24 years of age and with three previous feature films to his name, the fourth instalment to director/writer/actor Xavier Dolan’s burgeoning career is perhaps his most assured and mature to date.

With an already dedicated following thanks to the success of I Killed My Mother, Heartbeats and Laurence Anyways, Dolan’s work and status as a director has secured a cult level of appreciation for his (youthful) exuberant manner as a filmmaker. Tom At The Farm, however, immediately feels more fine-tuned and less visually indulgent. Working from a play by Michel Marc Bouchard, the backup of already existing source material has given Dolan a more purposeful approach to his directing.

Whereas in the past this has, at times, been lacking, Tom At The Farm is a lean, chilling riff on the psychological horrors of Alfred Hitchcock – Gabriel Yared’s lush score nods to the iconic work of Bernard Herrmann - with Kubrick’s The Shining thrown in for good measure. When Tom – played by Dolan himself – enters the misty and sparse pastoral land of Quebec for the funeral of his late partner, his encounter with the grieving mother and a hostile older brother make for an enigmatic, yet compelling, drama about personal secrets.

As far as on-screen relationships go there aren’t many that are as bizarre as the one between Tom and Francis (Pierre-Yvas Cardinal). Brutal, sinister, manipulative, caring, honest and revelatory in equal measures, Tom At The Farm focuses on fragile minds and dark impulses. Whether caused by bereavement or previous trauma, Dolan never makes the cause of each of the character’s behaviour explicit. Further playing to the eerie tension that exists from the very first frame.

Despite some strong performances, the real star of the film is André Turpin’s stark cinematography. Stripped down and more muted than the colourful palette of say Laurence Anyways, Turpin finds the sweet spot for the tone of Dolan’s warped psycho-thriller.

No doubt a hit for Dolan fans, Tom At The Farm will also likely convince those previously left underwhelmed by the kid extraordinaire to take a second look. And as a director who is evidently learning more and more as craftsman with every film - with an already extraordinary output for someone so early in their career - this could very well signal that the best is yet to come from Xavier Dolan.