The Night Logan Wakes Up
director and screenwriter: Xavier Dolan
Distribution: Eric Bruneau, Xavier Dolan, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Anne Dorval
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 minutes approx. (5 episodes)
Year: 2022
Gender: dramatic tension
Premiere: 27 June 2023 (Motion Picture)
The night Logan woke up marks a bold return to form for Xavier Dolan, a filmmaker whose early work sparked global attention with its fearless takes on family, desire, and identity. At 34, Dolan stands at a crossroads that invites both nostalgia and renewal. The mini-series presents him not as a breakout prodigy but as a seasoned voice willing to stretch the boundaries of television storytelling. It invites viewers to reconsider the promise of Dolan through the measured cadence of dialogue, the weight of subtext, and the lush, expressive imagery that has defined his cinema. The series treats melodrama not as a relic of the past but as a living, breathing tool capable of revealing truth in intimate conflict.
The project originates from a play by Michel Marc Bouchard, who previously provided the source material for Dolan’s adaptation in another film. Yet this adaptation remains unmistakably Dolan, infusing the stage origin with cinematic texture and a rhythm unique to television. Core themes revolve around family conflict, self-humiliation, and survival when confronted by a world that resists difference. It nods to genre conventions while subverting them through character-driven intimacy and a willingness to explore fear, longing, and resilience. The result is a hybrid tone that blends the seriousness of drama with splashes of bold, almost theatrical bravado, all supported by a music score that intensifies the emotional landscape while never overwhelming the storytelling.
Remarkable sequences unfold in the night that gives the title to the series. The film first captures Mireille’s younger brothers forming a fragile bond with Logan, a neighbor who becomes a focal point in a moment of sudden rupture. The relationships within the Larouche family ripple outward, affecting Denis, the father-figure who anchors the clan, and Elliot, the youngest brother who carries echoes of the past into the present. Years later, the surviving siblings reconnect after their mother Mado passes away, pushing each of them to confront old wounds and new disappointments. Mireille, now a renowned theatre voice named Julie LeBreton, returns to Val-des-Chutes with a plan that centers on honoring Mado’s wishes, even as her own life reveals cracks in its carefully crafted exterior. Julien, now grappling with the effects of years of drinking and an unsettled path, struggles to keep his academic and personal life from slipping away. Elliot remains in recovery, living a life that mirrors a nomadic search for stability, while Denis continues to wrestle with the consequences of a fractured family, including his own divorce.
The series format allows Dolan to pace revelations with surgical precision. Characters speak with intention, and the slow unspooling of backstory invites the audience to assemble the clues, turning viewer participation into a core pleasure. What begins as a tight, intimate drama gradually reveals broader implications about belonging, acceptance, and the ways communities police difference. Dolan’s approach balances seriousness with occasional touches of humor and audacious visual choices that recall classic feel-good cinema while leaning into the shadows where fear and longing coexist. A biker figure appears as a playful, almost mischievous counterpoint to the heavier material, evoking a certain nostalgia and a wink to traditional genre cinema. The camera work earns its praise too, with decisions that show a filmmaker who has refined his craft and is unafraid to let the image carry as much weight as the dialogue.
The music deserves high praise as well. Original compositions flow through scenes with a steady presence, while popular selections pepper the soundtrack to heighten mood and memory. The score builds a bridge between high emotion and quiet introspection, helping to craft a listening experience that lingers beyond the closing credits. References to recognizable songs and artists surface as deliberate texture, enriching the emotional language rather than distracting from the narrative. It is a soundtrack that knows when to stand back and when to speak, mirroring the series’ overall balance between restraint and intensity.