MARION BRIDGE (MONGREL MEDIA, 2002)

By Rick Jackson

Marion Bridge breaks new ground in Canadian Cinema by bringing to the surface a very important health issue that Hollywood has eschewed in favor of car chases, escapism and comic book characters. What unfolds for ninety minutes is a powerful drama about the death of a family member. The film's title comes from a song of the same name.

Written by Daniel MacIvor (who won the best screenplay prize at the Atlantic Film Festival), based on his own play, you are slowly drawn into the lives of three sisters in a small town in Nova Scotia who are faced with their ailing Mother. When she is discharged and sent home to be cared for by her three daughters, the shock of her eventual death and memories of a happier time bring them together.

Agnes is the sister who moved away from home and as the film opens she is returning home. Her anger and emotion are hidden inside and she escapes by retreating to irresponsible behaviour by staying out late and drinking which only antagonizes her siblings. It is the hurt that scares her the most; the realization that her mother is going to die, and Molly Parker plays her with such honesty and conviction, you feel for her right to the end.

Stacy Smith plays Louise, the sister who can't face up to her mother coming home from the hospital. She thinks if she acts like a child by watching TV and playing the guitar, the new reality in her life might go away.

As the more serious sister Theresa, Rebecca Jenkins (Bye Bye Blues) gives one of her best screen performances. When you first see her she is struggling to save her relationship with Glen, who doesn't want to have children. She deals with her mother's illness with sarcasm and stays up all night like a motherly sister when Agnes comes home late. Theresa doesn't trust anyone, something she says she has to work on.

The scenes with the sisters together are so poignant, you become immersed in their personal lives: from Theresa's cry of despair at letting go of her fear over her mother's death, Agnes' retreat like a teenager out to have a good time, and her head‑to‑head chat with her two sisters who help bring her back to reality.

In an excellent supporting role, Ellen Page plays Joanie, a troubled teen who doesn't know her real name or anything from her past. When Agnes sees her, she is reminded of her own reckless youth.

One of the most poignant moments in the film comes in the last half‑hour when the mother is close to dying and Agnes reads her last words. She tells her daughters to see beautiful things and look for the good.

Augmented by Stefan Ivanov's cinematography, you get to see some stunning shots of the Nova Scotia countryside. The sunrise and sunsets you see underscore the end of the mother's life, and the new beginning the three sisters must face as they continue their lives without her.
Looking after a loved one at home is the central theme of Marion Bridge. It is more than just a story of a dying mother and her three daughters. Director Wiebke von Carolsfeld captures on film the closeness of the nuclear family during a most vulnerable time. Without resorting to comedy or satire, she presents the universal and complex nature of dying with downright honesty and conviction. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one will relate to the mother's death which is presented in a dignified and respectful manner.

Marion Bridge is rated 14A with the warnings: coarse language and mature theme. It premiered at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. In attendance was the film's director Wiebke von Carolsfeld.

February 22, 2003