The Grand Seduction (2014)

Strong and Moving!

Absolutely Fantastic

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An extremely charming feel-good movie about a small harbour community. Full of hope, kind characters, subtle comedic moments and little white lies. 9/10

The town of Tickle Head used to be thriving fishing port on the coast of Newfoundland. Then the Cod dried up and the town fell on hard times. We join them at a time when everyone is on Welfare and the civic pride has ebbed from the small community like the fish stocks that once sustained them.Then a petro chemical company turns up willing to build a reprocessing plant on the coast – their bid is in with a chance. They like the community but they must have a resident doctor which they do not have and with a small community are unlikely to get one. Brendan Gleeson plays Murray French erstwhile fisherman and now – by default – the Mayor and they think all is lost when fate deals them a one off chance. A plastic surgeon gets sent to the community as a way to avoid awkward questions by the law. The community decide to do a charm offensive in order to persuade this man that their little community is heaven. Problem is he loves cricket, jazz (and they don't) and he has a life he is already missing. Can the plan ever work?Now this is a gentle comedy and the laughs are more smiles than guffaws. However, the film has a warmth and charm that makes you want to watch it. Taylor Kitsch is nice, charming and plays the part to a tee but Gleeson as ever is the scene stealer though he is ably aide in this respect from a supporting cast that all do a fine job. If you like your humour on the slow side but don't mind a tale from left field then I think there is a lot here to enjoy.

It's the small habour (not village) of Tickle Head, Newfoundland, Canada. Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) remembers the days when his proud father worked hard to fish cod. The pride is gone now and everybody lines up to receive their welfare. To add to the indignity, Murray's wife gets a job in the big city. The town is bidding for a petrochemical plant but they need a full-time doctor. Dr. Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) gets caught with some cocaine at the airport and the town's former mayor blackmails him to work in Tickle Head for a month. The town conspires to seduce Lewis with lies, cricket, fishing and Murray even tries to push Kathleen (Liane Balaban) to flirt. Then it gets more complicated when the oil executive implies that he needs a $100k bribe.This is a sweet little movie. The place looks nice. Brendan Gleeson is especially great. Taylor Kitsch and Liane Balaban are nice. Everything and everyone is nice and charming. There are a few good laughs but only a few. The romance could have been better. Gleeson and gang are able to keep the little charmer on track.

From the first time I saw the trailer for The Grand Seduction I was intrigued. I'm not a huge connoisseur of Canadian film by any means but I find lately they have really been finding their groove when it comes to being unique Canadian. In addition to that, while I was born and raised in Ontario, Canada, my father's entire family including him were born, raised and still live in small town Newfoundland. I've often thought how quirky and fun a comedy in that setting could be so immediately I thought this was full of potential. I expected a "Full Monty" feel with some genuinely good laughs and just a very down home feel. In some respects you will get that and there is a decent story with some okay characters but when its all done and said you're left feeling a little empty. The characters never really take off, in fact some are just wasted and the story lacks any real pizazz so really the film is just okay. It isn't terrible by any means and as expected the scenery in and around the locations they shoot is stunning. I expect the film will appeal more to a much older crowd and I understand it is doing very well out east and that makes sense too. Perhaps there wasn't enough time to tell the full story because I also thought this would make an awesome TV Series (similar to Northern Exposure but the Eastern Canada Version.) Brendan Gleeson leads the cast and does very well. His character is definitely the one that gets the most development and focus and a lot of really good emotional depth. I like Gleeson but I'm surprised they couldn't find a Canadian guy, much less an Easterner to play the role. Still Gleeson is good. The only true blooded Newfoundlander in the film is Gordon Pinsent and I was perhaps most excited to see him in a supporting role and had my hopes quickly dashed. Pinsent is perhaps the most underused and completely wasted character in the entire film. He is such a legendary Canadian actor and it seems like they tried to give his character some quirky depth but it never works and he's practically background fodder and that is unforgivable. Taylor Kitsch (better known to me as the guy who ruins every potential blockbuster) is our big city Doctor who inadvertently ends up forced into their small community. Kitsch keeps getting this pivotal roles (Battleship, John Carter and Savages and all three flopped colossally. However, he fits this role very well. He is meant to be the ultimate fish out of water and a character with a lot of flaws and he does it very well. He was probably my favourite performance of the movie. He and Gleeson have good chemistry (could have been better but it was still good) and he definitely does a good job. The main cast are hardly given any depth so you can imagine the supporting cast gets completely mis-used. The rudimentary attempt a romantic storyline is lost on a hardly used or established character played by Liane Balaban and the townsfolk that should have been downright hilarious are too few and far between to make an impact.The Grand Seduction is simply average in every way. If you're an Easterner than you might enjoy it more but otherwise you'll find it almost boring at times. None of the gags work to really make a different and the story feels forced at other times. The potential is absolutely there but it just isn't. A legend in his own right director Don McKellar seems to not be able to find his footing with this film. Maybe my expectations were too high? Try it on for size but be prepared for mediocrity it almost every way. Last week's Cas & Dylan was a far better made Canadian film. 6/10