The Night Logan Woke Up (2022) Review
In October of 1991, an unspeakable event rocks a small town in Quebec, haunting a family who tries to hide their dark secret; thirty years later these secrets resurface, stirring familial trauma and nightmarish memories, sending the family on an unstoppable pursuit of reconciliation.
Written and directed by the multi-talented Xavier Dolan (Cannes winner for IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD) THE NIGHT LOGAN WOKE UP is his first TV series (5x 1hr episodes) and features his iconic trademark style. It is adapted from a play by Michel Marc Brouchard about a family devastated by a shocking event in a small Quebec town twenty years previously.
With music by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer (DUNE), this brilliantly dark and gripping mystery drama stars Dolan himself, Julie LeBreton (Genie award winner for THE ROCKET), Jasmine Lemée (MY VERY OWN CIRCUS), Éric Bruneau (CORONER) and Patrick Hivon (GUARDIAN ANGEL).
The series has won multiple Gémeaux Awards for outstanding television in its native Canada, and the Hollywood Reporter award at the Cologne Film Festival and was selected for official competition at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
THE NIGHT LOGAN WOKE UP opens strong with a near-naked man bound and sat tied up to a flagpole before the narrative jumps forward in time and introduces us to siblings on the eve of their mum’s passing. There is a storm building, both metaphorically and weather-wise, and so far, I was hooked. The second episode concentrates on revealing how self-absorbed and repellent a couple of the male characters are.
This five-part limited series, first released in 2022, is directed by Xavier Dolan who also stars as arguably one of the most difficult characters to watch in any series or film that I have seen previous. His Elliot Larouche is repellent, and if that is the point of this character then Dolan has indeed turned in the performance of a lifetime. Spending viewing time with him is another matter. I could not bear to watch him.
Like the majority of what passes as television entertainment nowadays this is based around yet another dysfunctional family so from that point of view it hardly proves different to the norm. Where it does differ to others is in the fact that the performances are exceptional so what a shame it fast becomes a chore to sit through. It is billed as a ‘thriller drama.’ It offers up an abundance of drama, but any thrills are there for top and tailing purposes only, otherwise this is a slog to sit through.