Finally saw this 2003 indie films which includes Jane Leeves who does
an *American* accent --- she seems to be channeling Patricia Clarkson.
Like so many indie efforts, it deserves an A for effort, but little
more. The story and direction are muddled, and the mood is an
unresolved combo of melancholy and joy. The photography is (more than
one way) unfocussed and the DVD masks it to an extreme widescreen
aspect ratio which sometimes looks as chopped up as the 1967 70mm
"Gone With The Wind".
And the actors all have clashing accents Even the two Canadian stars,
Brent Carver and Don McKellar don't work well together. Carver's
voice and style is very 50s/60s Canadian theatre (like the cigaret man
on "The X-Files"), while McKellar is very north Toronto 90s movie/TV
yuppie.
Olympia Dukakis' accent isn't matched by the actresses who play her
two daughters. Parker Posey seems to have wandered in by mistake from
Hollywood Boulevard.
And the back-forth locations in New York and Halifax, Nova Scotia only
add to the confusion.
CPJ
