(Canada, 90
min.)
Dir.
Dominique Cardona, Laurie Colbert; Writ: Dominique Cardona, Laurie Colbert,
Margaret Webb
Starring:
Nicola Correia Damude, Patrick McKenna, Claire Lautier, Christine Horne, Maya Ritter, Marco Grazzin.
What a charmer Margarita
is! It’s easy to see how this delightful Canadian production won over audiences
at last year’s Inside Out Film Festival in Toronto, and managed to do the same at festivals in America and Europe. This international
crowd-pleaser, which plays like an indie relative of Mary Poppins with a LGBT twist or like Canada’s answer to The Kids Are All Right, is sure to receive a warm reception when it opens this month in Ottawa and Toronto.
Margarita might have to worry, though, since the wealthy
family she nannies for is strapped for cash. Ben (Patrick McKenna) blew the
family savings on a get-rich-quick scheme and Gail (Claire Lautier) refuses to
take work that actually pays the bills. The casualty of their financial
situation will simply have to be Margarita. Even though she gives them
considerable bang for their buck, not to mention offers the lone positive
influence for their spoiled daughter Mali (Maya Ritter), a nanny just doesn’t
seem as high of a priority as vintage wine and nifty gadgets.
Margarita’s situation is the financial times in a nutshell.
At the mercy of the frivolously well-off, who use money more like a toy than
as a means for survival, Margarita stands to lose everything at the age of
twenty-four. It doesn’t help, either, that her law-student girlfriend, Jane (Christine
Horne), is a non-committal blonde who treats their relationship simply as
something to do. It seems the members of Toronto’s highly driven upper-crust are so far
off the map they don’t know a keeper when they see one.
White liberal guilt thrives in the cold city, but Ben, Gail, and Jane are all
so self-involved that they risk losing the one rock holding their lives
together. Margarita has an indefatigable spirit, however, so she takes her hard
knocks in stride and works to actively better her situation, unlike the others
who seem to muck things up the more they do.
Margarita presents
a light-hearted comedy of manners with a unique spin. This warm tale looks into
the divides of class and social status that seem to be widening thanks to the
contemporary financial collapse, yet it shows how other traits in society seem
to be finding an equal footing at the same time. While Margarita’s poverty and
potential exile are plot twists for her social situation, her sexuality is
treated matter-of-factly. From the opening scene, which sees Margarita and her
girlfriends having fun in the hot tub, Margarita’s sexual orientation is simply another
trait of her multifaceted character, like the moms played by Annette Bening and
Julianne Moore in aforementioned Kids Are All Right.
Even though Margarita is gay, she’s a far better parent than Ben and Gail are put together.
Margarita’s relationship with Mali is a success because everything she does
comes from the heart. Margarita doesn’t approach life as a checklist.
What makes Margarita
a real winner, though, is Nicola Correia Damude in the title role. Although
Margarita is written like a saint, Damude portrays her as human, down to earth,
and doggedly pragmatic. Damude is a radiant presence, funny and sharp, and just
as well-rounded a gem as the character she portrays. The supporting players are
equally fine, especially Ritter as Mali, who provides some unexpected
counterpoints to Margarita’s tale.
Margarita’s relationship with Mali is particularly endearing. The
two are like sisters, or more like a Big Sister and a Little Sister, as
Margarita manages to give Mali a decent arc as the film progresses. Mali is
fairly unlikeable when Margarita
begins, but she learns from Margarita’s example and comes to see the value in
hard work and an education, and she undergoes a strong transformation in awareness
while her parents remain concerned primarily for their own well-being. (Even
Ben and Gail’s attempts to save Margarita seem rather self-serving.) Margarita,
on the other hand, saw her job description slowly rise beyond a mere nanny to
read “full time servant,” but her spirit and devotion to young Mali show that
success and personal worth aren’t measured with a dollar sign. Love, pure and
simple, is the hallmark of success. The buddy tale of Margarita and Mali is girl
power in its most empowering form.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Margarita screens in Ottawa at The Mayfair June 14-15.
It plays in Toronto
at The Female Eye Film Festival on Thursday, June 20 at 8pm.
