This little noir thriller from Vancouver plays out a destructive friendship between a depressed housewife and her childhood friend to an ugly conclusion. Laurel (Helene Joy) and her husband Michael (Ian Tracey) live in Desolation Sound on the coast of British Columbia with their daughter, Margaret (Emily Hirst). The movie doesn't waste time establishing them as a very unhappy family. The first scene shows Laurel and Michael rescuing Margaret from sleepwalking on the roof. The girl also steals things. Then, there's the girl's playmate, a really weird French-Canadian ex-con named Benny (Lothaire Bluteau, who is very good in a perfunctory supporting role). Benny lives in a trailer behind the house and makes creepy puppets with real hair. Yup, everybody has issues in this one. Soon after, Michael, a wildlife photographer, gets an assignment in the Aleutians which could solve the family's financial problems for quite some time. He takes it, despite Laurel clearly being unhappy about his always being on the road and the kid being miserable about his leaving again.
Before he goes, Laurel's best friend, Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals), shows up unexpectedly. Her father has just died and she's fishing for sympathy. She is also an emotional pyromaniac. The film never comes out and says what her problems are, but words like "sociopath" and "borderline personality disorder" seem to float around her like the haze from the cigarettes that she smokes. Nor does she bring out the best in Laurel, who is already running around playing a distorted version of Supermom with a fixed, skeletal grin on her face. Elizabeth makes snarky comments to all and sundry, which Laurel cheerily waves off. Meanwhile, it's clear to the viewer (though not yet to Laurel) that Elizabeth has either seduced Michael already or is working on it really hard.
Michael leaves. Laurel and Elizabeth go out to a bar where Elizabeth gets drunk and confesses to being an alcoholic (as if this weren't already obvious). She also confesses to having slept with Michael. Laurel doesn't take this well, getting up and smacking Elizabeth twice in the face before storming out with Margaret. Later that night, Elizabeth comes home, ingratiates herself back inside the house and then goes up onto the roof...and it all goes pear-shaped after that. Especially once Michael gets back early from his assignment.
The script and direction are cold and clinical, which suits the two main characters and their problems. For a loving mom and smoldering slut, Laurel and Elizabeth are icy to the core. The beautiful, dark BC coastal scenery and some of the background music (particular RedSuedeRed's "Unlike You" during Laurel's scenes of artistic excess) contribute to a general feeling that the characters are drowning in cold water. The acting is good overall, especially Tracey as the husband and Hirst as the little girl. The scenes between father and daughter give the film its only real warmth.
Canadian films often take tired situations and turn them upside down. People don't do what you think they will and things don't turn out the way you expect. This one is a good example and is well worth a look.
Before he goes, Laurel's best friend, Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals), shows up unexpectedly. Her father has just died and she's fishing for sympathy. She is also an emotional pyromaniac. The film never comes out and says what her problems are, but words like "sociopath" and "borderline personality disorder" seem to float around her like the haze from the cigarettes that she smokes. Nor does she bring out the best in Laurel, who is already running around playing a distorted version of Supermom with a fixed, skeletal grin on her face. Elizabeth makes snarky comments to all and sundry, which Laurel cheerily waves off. Meanwhile, it's clear to the viewer (though not yet to Laurel) that Elizabeth has either seduced Michael already or is working on it really hard.
Michael leaves. Laurel and Elizabeth go out to a bar where Elizabeth gets drunk and confesses to being an alcoholic (as if this weren't already obvious). She also confesses to having slept with Michael. Laurel doesn't take this well, getting up and smacking Elizabeth twice in the face before storming out with Margaret. Later that night, Elizabeth comes home, ingratiates herself back inside the house and then goes up onto the roof...and it all goes pear-shaped after that. Especially once Michael gets back early from his assignment.
The script and direction are cold and clinical, which suits the two main characters and their problems. For a loving mom and smoldering slut, Laurel and Elizabeth are icy to the core. The beautiful, dark BC coastal scenery and some of the background music (particular RedSuedeRed's "Unlike You" during Laurel's scenes of artistic excess) contribute to a general feeling that the characters are drowning in cold water. The acting is good overall, especially Tracey as the husband and Hirst as the little girl. The scenes between father and daughter give the film its only real warmth.
Canadian films often take tired situations and turn them upside down. People don't do what you think they will and things don't turn out the way you expect. This one is a good example and is well worth a look.