In my 5.22 review of Xavier Dolan‘s Mommy, I said that from my front-row vantage point the 1:1 aspect ratio (confirmed by Dolan at his press conference) “seemed like it was closer to 1 to 1.2 or 1 to 1.3 — taller than it was wide.” It’s a curious illusion but it still looks this way here. And yet if you tilt your head sideways it’s a perfectly square box. It goes without saying that the popcorn-munchers are going to have a very slight problem with this, like they’re being deprived on some level. Many/most of us been conditioned to accept 1.37 as the official non-wide a.r. but the taller-than-wider illusion might (I say “might”) get in the way for some. Or strike them as visually precious.
