The Canadian filmmaker was found dead in his cabin, located on the outskirts of Quebec.
The director and producer Jean-Marc Vallée, director of ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ (2013), a film with which the actors Matthew McConaughey (as protagonist) and Jared Leto (as secondary) won the Oscar, and creator of the HBO series ‘Big Little Lies’ (2017), for which he himself won an Emmy, has died at the age of 58. His representative, Bumble Ward, has reported that the filmmaker was found dead in his cabin, on the outskirts of Quebec (Canada), last weekend. On some occasion, he said that he was directed to “show the weaknesses and imperfections of human nature.”
Vallée also directed such interesting films as ‘CRAZY’ (2005) and ‘Café de Flore’ (2011), two titles written by him, unlike those mentioned, in which he showed his enormous originality and talent.
From his early days as a music video director, he was left with the ability to exploit the musical possibilities of movies. ‘CRAZY’, for example, had an exceptional soundtrack. As soon as he went to the movies, with a few lengths it became clear that he had a special talent and a different way of narrating.
In his last stage, he took advantage of the possibilities offered by television platforms to tell longer stories, such as the aforementioned ‘Big little lies’, which was a huge success around the world, and the darker ‘Open wounds’. Both can be seen on HBO Max.
The Canadian director, who studied film at the University of Quebec, always knew how to explore the dark side of ordinary people, although he also shot the historical film ‘Queen Victoria’ (2009), starring Emily Blunt and winner of an Oscar for best costume.
Already in his first feature film, ‘Liste noire’ (1995), he was nominated nine times at the Genie Awards. Then would come ‘Renegades 2: Los locos’ (1997), a less personal work, and the thriller ‘Loser Love’ (1999), which few will remember. During this search stage, he also directed two episodes of the series ‘The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne’ (2000).
Then five years passed without being heard from him, before reappearing triumphantly with the stupendous ‘CRAZY’ in 2005, which catapulted him to Hollywood and gave him numerous awards at festivals, including those for best director, script, and artistic direction in Gijón.
‘Café de Flore’ was not so well received, although it was clear that behind it there was a director who did not look like the others. Jean-Marc Vallée’s career took off definitively with ‘Dallas Buyers Club’, although the Oscars did not touch him. For some reason, academics viewed his films as good for reasons unrelated to their director, who perhaps lacked the necessary ‘name’ to be considered.
The film told the real-life of Ron Woodroof, a Texas rodeo cowboy, drug addict, and womanizer, granted one month to live by doctors in the 1980s, a victim of AIDS. Far from giving up, he began taking and dealing with AZT, the only drug that at that time had any effect against the disease.
He later directed ‘Wild Soul’, with Reese Witherspoon, with whom he returned to work on ‘Big Little Lies’, as well as Laura Dern. Both were nominated for an Oscar for the film. It is another unique but less spectacular story, that of a young woman who travels alone for more than 1,600 kilometers along the Path of the Pacific Summits.
‘Demolition’ (2015) told the life of an executive ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) who suffers the sudden and tragic death of his wife. It was a powerful story, but also too twisted to appeal to large audiences, a bit like the miniseries ‘Open Wounds’.
With ‘Big Little Lies’, however, Vallée and the creator, David E. Kelley, hit the nail on the head when telling the life of the rich ‘normal’ of California, with an intrigue that also offered a starting point never seen: the main mystery was not to find out who the murderer was, but the victim. For once, in the generous distribution of awards, the director was not the great forgotten and Jean-Marc Vallée won his well-deserved Emmy. What he does in the last chapter (of the first season) is a work of art.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
