MOUTHPIECE | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Patricia Rozema (15 ,91 mins)
A deeply moving drama following Cassandra, a young woman coming to terms with her role in life and her own mother’s death. Portrayed by two actors at the same time – Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava as tall Cassandra and short Cassandra respectively – what may seem like a gimmick is far from it, instead creating a wonderfully realised portrayal of internal conflict.
Based on Nostbakken’s play, it is a truly cinematic rendering of its theatrical source. Nostbakken and Sadava don’t play warring opposites: often their thoughts are in sync, as are their movements, able to trip together, wash and brush their hair, one helping the other sometimes both physically and emotionally. In the 48-hour period before their mother’s funeral they struggle to write the perfect eulogy after their mother, played with resilience and love by Maev Beaty, suddenly dies. Cassandra’s childhood is glimpsed: moments with her mother, first day at school, missing her father, her mother struggling to cope, pushing her notebook into a bowl of soup. The tangled intricacies of any mother-daughter relationship laid bare.
The memories and motherly advice come flooding back, as do the moments when Cassandra’s behaviour with her mother are not so joyous: when matters are tinged with selfishness and exasperation. Cassandra blames her mother for not being more than she could have been, seeing her thwarted ambitions, misplaced devotion, her divorce – but she was much more than that. The sum of her parts cannot be easily stated, something the film shows with great tenderness, love and humour. Songs break out in malls and funerals as the Cassandras try and work out what the best eulogy could be, and a winning feminist agenda runs throughout, sharp points made about gender roles and opportunities amidst the drama.
The cast is full of rounded characters, from a loyal best friend played by Jess Salgueiro to Paula Boudreau’s cloying but well-meaning Aunt Jane. Nostbakken and Sadava are superb playing the same part in rich psychological depth, both offering nuance to the fractured, grief-stricken Cassandra. Two parts really make a whole in this wonderful, moving and ultimately uplifting film.
Released in virtual cinemas and on demand on Fri 12 Mar
words KEIRON SELF