Jean-Marc Vallée (March 9, 1963 – December 25, 2021) was a Canadian director, film editor, and screenwriter. After studying film at the Université du Québec à Montréal, Vallée went on to make a number of critically acclaimed short films, including "Stéréotypes" (1991), "Les fleurs magiques" (1995), and "Les mots magiques" (1998). His debut feature, "Black List" (1995), was nominated for nine Genie Awards, including nods for Vallée's direction and editing. His fourth feature film, "C.R.A.Z.Y." (2005), received further critical acclaim and was a financial success. Vallée's followup, "The Young Victoria" (2009), garnered strong reviews and received three Academy Award nominations, while his sixth film, "Café de Flore" (2011), was the most nominated film at the 32nd Genie Awards. Vallée's next films, the American dramas "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013) and "Wild" (2014) continued this acclaim, and the former earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing. Vallée ventured into television by executive producing and directing two projects for HBO, the drama series "Big Little Lies" (2017) and the thriller miniseries "Sharp Objects" (2018). For the former, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 9, 1963
- December 25, 2021 (aged 58)
- Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Director, editor, producer and writer
- 13 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
What are Jean-Marc Vallée's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
A split, not a type: Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 5
Grounded 5 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 6 · Intense 2
Steady 1 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 1
Casual 2 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet6
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Jean-Marc Vallée's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on HBO Max (3).
Subscription and free streaming for Jean-Marc Vallée's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
24 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Lady in the Lake(2024)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all shows
Soul Pursuit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
The Space Between(2021)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Big Giant Wave(2023)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all filmsAinsi soit-elle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
Sharp Objects(2018)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows
Big Little Lies(2017)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Demolition(2015)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Birthday Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
King Ripple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Wild(2014)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Dallas Buyers Club(2013)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Café de Flore(2011)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Young Victoria(2009)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
C.R.A.Z.Y.(2005)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Loser Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Les mots magiques (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Los Locos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Strangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Liste noire(1995)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Les Fleurs Magiques (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Pablo qui court (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Stereotypes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles from 1991 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Highest rated
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Most popular right now
Big Little Lies (2017)
Film career
- 2011Screen debut· Café de Flore
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
2 Primetime Emmys and 1 other major award from 13 major nominations, 2005–2020.
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Limited Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie
+2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
- Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Limited Series Television
- Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Miniseries
- Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Limited Series
- Primetime Emmy, nominated · Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or a Movie
- Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Film Editing
- Venice award, nominated · Best Film (Venice Days)
- Venice award, nominated · Best Film (Venice Days)
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Jean-Marc Vallée's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 87th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th3
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 50/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Jean-Marc Vallée's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Jean-Marc Vallée work with?
People who share at least 2 of Jean-Marc Vallée's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Nathan Ross shares the most, 4.
Actors
- Laura DernShared titles: Big Little Lies (2017), Wild (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Laura Dern
- Reese WitherspoonShared titles: Big Little Lies (2017), Wild (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Reese Witherspoon
- Kevin RankinShared titles: Wild (2014), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Kevin Rankin
- Michel LaperrièreShared titles: Café de Flore (2011), C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Michel Laperrière
Cinematographers
- Yves BélangerShared titles: Demolition (2015), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)See all 2 shared titles with Yves Bélanger
Producers
- Nathan RossShared titles: Critical Incident: Death at the Border (2025), Demolition (2015), Wild (2014), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)See all 4 shared titles with Nathan Ross
- Nicole HilaréguyShared titles: Café de Flore (2011), C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Nicole Hilaréguy
- Pierre EvenShared titles: Café de Flore (2011), C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Pierre Even
