Bullies are becoming as prevalent on art house screens as superheroes are in multiplexes. A felt pen scribbling a jagged suicide farewell across a cocktail napkin sets the perfect note of tension for this homoerotic thriller. Tom (writer-director Xavier Dolan) journeys to the cow farm owned by his late (and closeted) lover’s clueless mother Lise (Lise Roy) and overly-protective, homophobic “brother-in-law” Francis’ (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), there to pay an unexpected condolence call. Initially held captive against his will, Tom gradually begins to take a shine to Francis’ violent sexual advances and assumes a regular seat at the dinner table. Does the blood on Tom’s hands belong to a newborn calf, or did he decide to put a permanent end to this peculiar brand of rough trade? It’s off-kilter moments like this that make Tom’s stay a thrill to watch, until a groggy resolution causes the high Hitchcockian bar it sets to come crashing down. (2013) — Scott Marks
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