Strong cast and solid writing capture sisterhood in 'Marion Bridge'
April 18, 2003
BY JANICE PAGE, Boston Globe Correspondent
Dramatic works about sisters are hard enough to get right. ''Marion Bridge'' has the added burden of being about three sisters, a classic dynamic puzzled over by no less than Anton Chekhov and Woody Allen.
That's why first-time feature film director Wiebke von Carolsfeld should kiss her casting guru for finding Molly Parker, Rebecca Jenkins, and Stacy Smith, who make it all look so easy. They aren't the only things that lift ''Marion Bridge,'' but their pitch-perfect performances go a long way toward making it a respectable addition to the tragic three sisters oeuvre. Without them, this could easily have been just a tawdry Nova Scotia soap opera.
Parker, the only member of the trio who might be vaguely recognizable outside Canada's borders (not least for two episodes of HBO's ''Six Feet Under''), plays the youngest and most rebellious sister, Agnes. When the film begins, Agnes has just flown back from Toronto -- where she's been running away from her past -- to be at her dying mother's bedside in Cape Breton. From the moment oldest sister Theresa (Jenkins) arrives at the airport to pick her up, it's clear that their sibling dance is realistically intricate and chafing.
''Thought you quit smoking,'' pious Theresa spits before they're out of the terminal.
''I quit a lot,'' Agnes glares back.
Things continue like that for most of the movie, meaning middle sister Louise (Smith) gets to be the quiet one. While Agnes battles substance abuse and Theresa can't seem to kick her bad-habit ex-husband, Louise spends her time glued to the television or exploring a friendship with a woman that may or may not be romantic. Smith plays the understated character deftly and it's a real testament to her strength that she doesn't get lost in the volatile mix.
Parker and Jenkins are like a string of firecrackers tied together, exploding in random synchronized bursts and lonely pops. Not only do they look like Old World biological sisters, but they fit together so naturally in tone and spirit, you really can forget they're not related.
Daniel MacIvor's screenplay is adapted from his stage play of the same title, echoing a lyric in a popular traditional Nova Scotian folk composition called ''Song for the Mira.'' The film takes a while to get going, but hits its stride in the second half when the plot fully reveals its devastating secret. It's then that what might have seemed clichd turns out to be just the plastic wrap over something a lot less pleasant-smelling, and drives toward an ending that is bittersweet at best.
The fourth star of this film is the hard-shelled Nova Scotia landscape, which seems to leave so much unsaid within its stark beauty that Agnes jokes they should write ''Shhhhh'' on the causeway signs. Von Carolsfeld wisely makes just as much use of her geography as Allen made Manhattan a character (again) in ''Hannah and Her Sisters,'' and Chekhov put Russia at the center of ''The Three Sisters.''
Hey, why reinvent the wheel?
Back to articles
April 18, 2003
BY JANICE PAGE, Boston Globe Correspondent
Dramatic works about sisters are hard enough to get right. ''Marion Bridge'' has the added burden of being about three sisters, a classic dynamic puzzled over by no less than Anton Chekhov and Woody Allen.
That's why first-time feature film director Wiebke von Carolsfeld should kiss her casting guru for finding Molly Parker, Rebecca Jenkins, and Stacy Smith, who make it all look so easy. They aren't the only things that lift ''Marion Bridge,'' but their pitch-perfect performances go a long way toward making it a respectable addition to the tragic three sisters oeuvre. Without them, this could easily have been just a tawdry Nova Scotia soap opera.
Parker, the only member of the trio who might be vaguely recognizable outside Canada's borders (not least for two episodes of HBO's ''Six Feet Under''), plays the youngest and most rebellious sister, Agnes. When the film begins, Agnes has just flown back from Toronto -- where she's been running away from her past -- to be at her dying mother's bedside in Cape Breton. From the moment oldest sister Theresa (Jenkins) arrives at the airport to pick her up, it's clear that their sibling dance is realistically intricate and chafing.
''Thought you quit smoking,'' pious Theresa spits before they're out of the terminal.
''I quit a lot,'' Agnes glares back.
Things continue like that for most of the movie, meaning middle sister Louise (Smith) gets to be the quiet one. While Agnes battles substance abuse and Theresa can't seem to kick her bad-habit ex-husband, Louise spends her time glued to the television or exploring a friendship with a woman that may or may not be romantic. Smith plays the understated character deftly and it's a real testament to her strength that she doesn't get lost in the volatile mix.
Parker and Jenkins are like a string of firecrackers tied together, exploding in random synchronized bursts and lonely pops. Not only do they look like Old World biological sisters, but they fit together so naturally in tone and spirit, you really can forget they're not related.
Daniel MacIvor's screenplay is adapted from his stage play of the same title, echoing a lyric in a popular traditional Nova Scotian folk composition called ''Song for the Mira.'' The film takes a while to get going, but hits its stride in the second half when the plot fully reveals its devastating secret. It's then that what might have seemed clichd turns out to be just the plastic wrap over something a lot less pleasant-smelling, and drives toward an ending that is bittersweet at best.
The fourth star of this film is the hard-shelled Nova Scotia landscape, which seems to leave so much unsaid within its stark beauty that Agnes jokes they should write ''Shhhhh'' on the causeway signs. Von Carolsfeld wisely makes just as much use of her geography as Allen made Manhattan a character (again) in ''Hannah and Her Sisters,'' and Chekhov put Russia at the center of ''The Three Sisters.''
Hey, why reinvent the wheel?
Back to articles