(Canada, 89 min.)
Dir. Bruce McDonald, Writ. Daniel MacIvor
Starring: Dylan Authors, Julia Sarah Stone, Molly Parker,
Allan Hawco
Programme: Special Presentations (World Premiere)
 |
| Photo courtesy of TIFF. |
The Canuck director with the iconic cowboy hat goes down the
road once again. It’s been a while since Bruce McDonald delivered a road trip,
especially since his earlier works Roadkill,
Highway 61, and Hard Core Logo established his voice with aimless Canadians riding
the dream that life was better elsewhere. The road movie, though, is where
McDonald really excels. He’s back in the driver’s seat with his new pic Weirdos and it’s easily his strongest film
since 2010’s Trigger. Weirdos is one of the best and most
surprising films of McDonald’s career.
As Kit struts away from his home in his snazzy shoes to some
rambling guitar riffs, Weirdos begins
with hints of Midnight Cowboy and Goin’ Down the Road. Those classic films
are tragedies, though, and despite
the stark cinematography—Weirdos is
shot in gorgeously retro black and white by Becky Parsons—this film is
refreshingly optimistic. Who knew that Canada’s coolest filmmaker has such a
sweet spot?
Weirdos avoids
easy cynicism as Kit and Alice hitchhike the 200 kilometres (ish) from
Antigonish to Sydney and stretch their relationship along an equally long
journey. Alice is a little angsty as she eagerly awaits “goodbye sex” while Kit
harbours other interests, but she shares her boyfriend’s youthful innocence. Slade
is every bit a revelation here as she was in her breakout performance in Wet Bum, as Alice and Kit move further
and further and she asks question upon question, assuming the role of
inquisitor instead of the wise-cracking scoffer.
The couple confronts the imperfections of their relationship
as fellow travellers add fresh dynamics and new temptations. Weirdos could easily be one of those
offbeat road movies that trucks in a cavalcade of eccentric characters who
jibber-jabber all sorts Sundance-y nonsense and phoney-baloney insight, but the
down-to-earth and insightful screenplay by Daniel MacIvor (Trigger) offers characters who are real, raw, and peculiar in their
own particular way. What makes the film so honest is the authenticity and
understated complexity of the characters. They’re flawed and complicated, but
not overtly so. (Well, one is, but we’ll get to her in a minute.) Everyone
feels grounded in reality, pulled from the small towns and the big cities of
Canada with relatable and refreshingly humane shortcomings.
Weirdos takes a
surprising turn in its third act when Kit and Alice arrive at their
destination. Enter Kit’s mother, Laura (Molly Parker), with whom he is
estranged. She’s an obvious mess of complicated mania from the moment the
camera sets eyes on Parker. The House of
Cards stars immediately absorbs all the attention of the lens as Laura
stands in a tattered white gown—possibly even her wedding dress—within a
brightly lit garden that sparkles in the film’s greyscale palette. It’s only
lunch time, but Laura has a Manhattan on the go as she dances freestyle in the
yard like Miss Havisham’s bohemian sister. Overjoyed at the return of her son,
she invites them in for sandwiches, stories of Andy Warhol, and glasses filled
to the brim with brown liquor as Parker commands the screen with unprecedented
confidence in her already impressive career.
Parker owns the final act of Weirdos. Laura is the trickiest weirdo of the film, but Parker
takes the drama to its deepest and most unexpected places. She brings
rapid-fire shifts of highs and lows as she reveals a manic-depressive woman
bursting with life, love, and energy. Parker conveys every undulation in
Laura’s spirit, conveying her euphoria with a spirited and effervescent
monologue about the good old days about partying with Andy Warhol in Toronto. She
reveals the depths of her character’s depression as Laura painfully realises
just how out of control her behaviour is. It’s a rich, dynamic, and, above all,
sensitive portrayal of mental illness. This work ranks among the best work of
Parker’s career and it’s hard to imagine another performance at the festival
matching her dexterity.
For all of Parker’s energy and sheer magnetism, McDonald’s
film never forgets that Weirdos is
ultimately the story of two young adults finding their place in the world.
Laura’s desperate cry for help puts Kit and Alice’s own idiosyncrasies into
perspective as the film builds a coming of age tale about embracing the differences
that unite people rather than drive them apart.
Even Andy Warhol gives a speech about how much he loves Canada’s
quaintness and simplicity, which is symbolised in the offbeat choice of a bight
red leaf as our national emblem. (What kinds of weirdos celebrate a leaf?) Set
just a stone’s throw from Marion Bridge, MacIvor’s screenplay offers a ripe and
tangible sense of place, while McDonald’s direction harnesses the freeing power
of the road along Kit and Alice’s journey. The film is one of McDonald’s most
unabashedly Canadian films yet as the eclectic aura of the Maritime landscape
evokes a nation of weirdos. The film owns Canada’s offbeat strangeness that
ranges from sea to shining sea.
Weirdos screens:
-Friday, Sept. 9 at 7:00 PM
-Sunday, Sept. 11 at 8:45 AM at the Isabel Bader
TIFF screens Sept. 8-18. Please visit tiff.net for more
information.
