The coroner’s report into the death of director Jean-Marc Vallée was finally released on Wednesday. The Coroner, Mr.and Donald Nicole, confirms that it is indeed a natural death. The filmmaker died on December 25 of a “sudden heart attack”, “a few minutes after arriving at his second home” in Berthier-sur-Mer, we learn.
Posted at 5:50 p.m.
“Mr. Jean-Marc Vallée died of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia following acute thrombosis of the interventricular branch of the left coronary artery, secondary to severe coronary atherosclerosis,” the report concludes.
The autopsy was performed on December 28, 2021 at the University Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology of Quebec.
In addition to low back pain problems, the analysis of the filmmaker’s medical file indicates that he suffered “from no diagnosed chronic health problem constituting a risk factor for cardiovascular disease”. Jean-Marc Vallée was 58 years old.
The toxicological analyzes carried out at the Laboratory of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Medicine in Montreal did not reveal any trace of alcohol or any other substance that contributed to the death. “No writing expressing a suicidal intention was found on the spot”, also specifies the coroner. Finally, according to the police investigation report, no sign of violence, theft, break-in or intervention by a third party was observed at the scene of Mr. Vallée’s death.
The coroner’s investigation report reconstructed the thread of events that led to the filmmaker’s death.
Jean-Marc Vallée had invited a friend to have dinner with him on December 26, at his residence in Berthier-sur-Mer. He himself was not due to arrive until the end of the day on December 25. On the morning of the 26th, then at noon, this friend tried to reach Mr. Vallée, without success. Worried, he went home at 2:30 p.m. It was then that he discovered his friend’s lifeless body.
Examination of the scene showed that Jean-Marc Vallée had arrived at his secondary residence in the early evening, that he had transported only part of his purchases and personal effects which were in his car.
He was found lying on the ground in front of his fireplace, his cell phone near his hands, which suggests that he tried to call for help.
Analysis of Jean-Marc Vallée’s phone shows the presence of missed calls and unanswered notifications as of 9:42 p.m. on December 25.
The announcement of the death of Jean-Marc Vallée had created a shock wave in the Quebec cinematographic community, but also on the international scene, his friends and collaborators saluting his great humanism. The filmmaker, whose career was launched in 2005 thanks to the film CRAZYwent on to direct many other successful films and series including The Young Victoria (2009), Flora Coffee (2011), Tea Dallas Buyers Club (2013) and Big Little Lies (2017).
Jean-Marc Vallée had two sons: Alex and Émile Vallée.