Two of the five episodes of this psychological thriller adapted from the play “The night where Laurier Gaudreault woke up” will be broadcast on January 23 at 9 p.m. on Canal+ and then available on My Canal.
First foray on the small screen for Xavier Dolan who has just revealed the release date of his very first series called The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up. The Canadian filmmaker and actor will meet viewers on January 23 at 9 p.m. on Canal+ to discover two of the five 60-minute episodes of this series that he wrote and directed.
Adapted from a play by Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, this family psychological thriller tells the story of Mireille, back with her family after the death of her mother. This tense reunion brings to light a secret buried thirty years earlier by Mireille, one of her brothers Julien and their best friend, Laurier.
“Always pushing my limits further”
On the casting side, The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up brings together on screen Julie Le Breton, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Éric Bruneau and Patrick Hivon, the same cast as the original play. They are joined on screen by Julianne Côté and Xavier Dolan who also finds one of his favorite actresses Anne Dorval, present in five of the director’s films.
The filmmaker Caesarized for Just the end of the world explained that he immediately wanted to adapt this play, after seeing it in 2019 at the Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde in Montreal because it explores themes that are dear to him.
“Beyond the evidence that imposed itself on me, to write and shoot this story about life and death, about mourning, self-acceptance, family, there was between the idea and the realization of the months of waiting caused by the pandemic, and which will have inspired me more than ever, excited, impatient, even, to take action, and to push my limits ever further”, commented Xavier Dolan in 2020 in the Canal+ press release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCq7rbXRYCg
Last project before a break
After the triumphs of Mommy and of Just the end of the world in Cannes and in cinemas, Xavier Dolan continued with two films, a major American production, My life with John F. Donovan (2018), and a Quebec drama, Matthias and Maxime (2019). Two films which were not successful and forced the actor to take a step back from his career.
In November 2022, Xavier Dolan confided that The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up would certainly be his last project before taking a break. “I don’t really want to do this job anymore at the moment” confided the 33-year-old filmmaker to the Montreal Journal.
And to add: “It is not trivial if there is in The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up a reflection on life, death, mourning, redemption, family. It is a fairly global and existential work. And maybe that’s my way of saying goodbye for a little while…”
