Weirdos (film)

Weirdos is a Canadian drama film, which debuted at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[1] The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and written by Daniel MacIvor.

Weirdos
Film poster
Weirdos
Directed byBruce McDonald
Produced byMarc Almon
Mike MacMillan
Written byDaniel MacIvor
StarringDylan Authors
Julia Sarah Stone
Molly Parker
Allan Hawco
Cathy Jones
Rhys Bevan-John
Release date
  • 9 September 2016 (2016-09-09) (Toronto)
Running time
85 min
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.3 million

Set in Nova Scotia in 1976, the film stars Dylan Authors as Kit, a teenager living in Antigonish who decides to run away to live with his mother in Sydney.[2]

Plot

Kit (Dylan Authors) is a 15-year-old living in a small town in Nova Scotia with his single father Dave (Allan Hawco) and grandmother Mary (Cathy Jones). He is dating Alice (Julia Sarah Stone) despite being unsure of his own sexuality. Deciding that he wants to go live with his mother Laura (Molly Parker) in Sydney, Kit enlists Alice's help to embark on a hitchhiking trip. Throughout the trip, Kit also has regular imaginary conversations with Andy Warhol (Rhys Bevan-John), who has appointed himself Kit's "spirit animal".

Cast

List based on IMDb.[3]

Actor Character
Dylan Authors Kit
Julia Sarah Stone Alice
Molly Parker Laura
Allan Hawco Dave
Cathy Jones Mary
Vi Tang Mr. Po
Alex Purdy Jack
Aria Publicover Jeanie
Max Humphreys Leo
Dominique Leblanc Marylou
Deivan Steele Nalin
Stephen McHattie Priest
Mateo Giovannetti Beans
Kathryn MacLellan Waitress
Gary Levert Joe
Francine Deschepper Val
Jonathan Torrens Torso of American Man
John Dunsworth Drunk Driver
Jim McSwain Artistic Roommate

Production

The film was shot in colour and later converted to black and white. McDonald stated, "It's always difficult to shoot black and white because the powers that be, or the funders, are often wanting colour because colour is a bit more normal. (But) in the independent world, sometimes it does offer you those other kind of freedoms like, 'Let's go black and white!' And it's not for everybody, but a lot of people are like, 'Wow, that's just so beautiful in black and white.'"[4]

The film's soundtrack includes a predominantly but not exclusively Canadian lineup of rock and pop songs from the era, including Harry Nilsson's "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City", Lighthouse's "Love of a Woman", Gordon Lightfoot's "Summer Side of Life" and "Cotton Jenny", Rush's "Finding My Way", Edward Bear's "Last Song", The Stampeders' "Carry Me", Crowbar's "Oh, What a Feeling", FM's "Phasers on Stun", Patsy Gallant's "From New York to L.A.", Labi Siffre's "Crying Laughing Loving Lying", Murray McLauchlan's "Down by the Henry Moore" and Anne Murray's "Snowbird".

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93%, based on 14 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10.[5]

Adam Nayman of Cinema Scope stated, "It's nice that this latest work by a filmmaker who has sometimes chased hipness past its expiration date concludes on a note of deliberate, intergenerational non-cool."[6] Brent Mcknight of The Seattle Times remarked, "The young leads are charming and authentic, and the film reminds us all to embrace our own weirdness."[7] The Toronto Star's Peter Howell said that "Weirdos is one of Bruce McDonald's sweetest films."[8] The Hollywood Reporter's Sheri Linden called the film "A lovely, low-key memory piece, vibrant with the awkward grace of adolescence."[9]

Awards and nominations

The film garnered six Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017:

Awards Category Recipients and nominees Result
Canadian Screen Awards[10] Best Motion Picture Marc Almon, Mike MacMillan and Bruce McDonald Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Molly Parker Won
Best Original Screenplay Daniel MacIvor Won
Best Art Direction/Production Design Matt Likely Nominated
Best Achievement in Costume Design Bethana Briffett Nominated
Best Editing Duff Smith Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle[11] Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Molly Parker Won
Leo Awards[12] Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture Julia Sarah Stone Nominated
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards[13] Best Editing in Feature Film Duff Smith Nominated
Directors Guild of Canada Awards[14] Best Picture Editing - Feature Film Duff Smith Nominated
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Bruce McDonald Won

References
  1. Vlessing, Etan (3 August 2016). "Toronto International Film Festival Unveils Canadian Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. Harvey, Dennis (23 September 2016). "Film Review: 'Weirdos'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. "Weirdos (2016): Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  4. Szklarski, Cassandra (7 September 2016). "Bruce McDonald hits the road again with black-and-white 'Weirdos'". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. "Weirdos (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. Nayman, Adam. "Weirdos (Bruce McDonald, Canada) — Special Presentations". Cinema Scope. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  7. Mcknight, Brent (25 May 2017). "Mini reviews of After the Storm, Weirdos, The Lure and The Sense of an Ending, plus Miss Sloane on DVD". Seattle Times. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  8. Howell, Peter; Demara, Bruce (16 March 2017). "Mini reviews of After the Storm, Weirdos, The Lure and The Sense of an Ending, plus Miss Sloane on DVD". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  9. Linden, Sheri (14 February 2017). "'Weirdos': Film Review | Berlin 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  10. Furdyk, Brent (12 March 2017). "2017 Canadian Screen Awards: And The Winners Are..." Entertainment Tonight Canada. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  11. vancouverfilm (10 January 2017). "Hello Destroyer Named Best Canadian Film by VFCC". Vancouver Film Critics Circle. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  12. "2017 Leo Awards Nominees & Winners". Leo Awards. Troika Productions. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  13. "2017 CCE Awards - Nominees". Canadian Cinema Editors. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  14. Sosa, Alejandra (26 June 2017). "2017 DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". Directors Guild of Canada. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
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