Mommy Reflection

The 1:1 aspect ratio of Mommy is a unique concept that draws attention to the fact that this is first and for most a film. Although Dolan has stated that the ratio was in in fact inspired by Instagram there are still relevant parallels between what his film does and the way in which Instagram works as a social media format. In the first half of the movie the characters are very much hiding behind the façade and small framing the movie has to offer. This part of the film is beautifully filmed and almost every shot could be appreciated as a still picture on its own. (A picture that would look right home on my Instagram newsfeed.) These images are stunningly composed and exposed and offer a glimpse, all be it a highly stylized glimpse into the life between this mother and her son. This highly stylized glimpse at life is very akin to the way in which Instagram claims to give a peek into the lives its users follow, however, like the first half of this film these peeks are highly filtered and limited by the square ratio.

Another moment in the film that clearly calls attention to the fact that Mommy is a film is when Steve seems to grab the edges of the frame and push them outward. This is the first point in the film where the entirety of the screen is used and it also marks a turning point to where the pretty façade of the first half of the film dissolves to reveal the actual more pressing, non surface level, issues in-between the mother and son. It is this action that causes the film to lose its parallel to Instagram because Instagram never loses its aspect ratio and always encourages the filtered façade of the 1:1 instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of how life actually is.