Hubert Minel is a typical teenager in almost every sense: he is narcissistic, has mediocre grades, experiments with drugs, is defining himself sexually, and he hates his mother. Although “hate” does not aptly describe Hubert’s feelings — he is consumed by his loathing. He hates the way his mother eats, the way she drives, pretty much any and everything she does intensifies Hubert’s disgust, and he has no problem showing it. His mother, Chantale, is an equal player in their constant bickering. A divorcée with a penchant for tanning and wearing tight, shiny clothes, Chantale is absent-minded and exasperating.

With his home life in shambles, Hubert finds solace at his boyfriend’s house and in the company of an understanding teacher. But, when Hubert is unwittingly outed to his mother, their already-strained relationship hits a breaking point.

The characters’ interactions are familiar to anyone who has endured the uncertainties of adolescence. At times this is a wickedly humorous film, and writer-director-actor Xavier Dolan delicately balances the blame between mother and son, with realistic dialogue befitting an angry teen, but also with the eye of a blossoming adult who is starting to know better. Chantale and Hubert are the same — both with quick fuses and an inability to communicate — just as love and hate can be the same. I Killed My Mother is a complex drama about how relationships constantly regress, change and grow, and how easy it is to get lost along the way.