Canada is my valentine for 2015 since, well, I'm in love with Canada. I hope Canada likes me, too.
In 2012, I shared a tribute to Canadian women who I found attractive on multiple levels. Last year, Ellen Page came out on Valentine's Day, a great present to herself and the world. Page is definitely on my cool Canadians list.
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Ellen Page: still a cool Canadian role model
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Seeing the multiple layers of beauty of famous Canadian women
Unlike a certain sports magazine that suddenly features scantily-clad women this time of year, my list is full of cool Canadian women who happen to be visually beautiful as well. Let's add a few more to the list:
Tatiana Maslany
I saw a little known film in 2011 called "Picture Day." This young actress from Saskatchewan stole that film. Maslany came onto my radar, though many in Canada knew about her for years.
"Cas & Dylan" was, by every definition, a simple film with an obvious plot. Yet again, Maslany stole the show. Even a grumpy, dying Richard Dreyfuss (character, not him) couldn't resist the charms of the youthful energetic travel companion.
Fans on both sides of the border now know Maslany for her fine drama work on "Orphan Black." Seeing Maslany do comedy makes me appreciate more the numerous characters she brings to life in the sci-fi drama, returning for Season 3 on April 18 on BBC America.
If I had to pick an Orphan Black character to fall in love with, the answer ironically would be Cosima. There is a tenderness, a sweetness … okay, and the braids that make you want to hold her in your arms as she deals with that horrible respiratory illness. Doesn't hurt that Cosima is also really, really smart. You feel like Cosima is the closest character to Maslany, but she'll never tell.
Suzanne Clement
I have only seen Clement in the 3 Xavier Dolan films where she has appeared. (I still need to see "Fall.") Having just rewatched "Mommy" and still tearing up in some of her scenes, Clement made the valentine list relatively quickly.
Clement in "Laurence Anyways" absolutely takes your breath away as someone who is in love even when she can't be in love. She is strong and beautiful and tortured throughout the film.
Her nurturer character in "I Killed My Mother" clinched her for me. While there might be some similar characteristics with her role in "Mommy," her vulnerability and her ability to rise up from that literally brought tears to me eyes, even with a second showing.
Anne Dorval gets an honourable mention with her amazing acting in 3 of Dolan's films. But Clement melts my heart just a bit more.
Alice Munro
I didn't know much about Alice Munro or "The Bear Who Came Down a Mountain" until Sarah Polley adapted her short story for the screenplay for "Away From Her." The fact that Polley, in her directorial debut, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay was a sign to pay more attention to Munro.
More around the world discovered this Canadian writer as Munro won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013 as "master of the contemporary short story." She also won the 2009 Man Booker International Prize and a 3-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction.
Munro gets people to care about Canadian literature, short stories, Canadian short stories, and Canada. And Sarah Polley loves her. That is more than enough to add her to the list.
Let's not forget Munro's other major legacy: co-founded the legendary bookstore Munro Books in Victoria, BC, in 1963.
Ellen Page
Page was in 3 films in the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. I saw "The Tracey Fragments" and some film named "Juno." Still haven't seen "The Stone Angel," but the young actress from Halifax made a favorable impression.
Her acting chops include a film that I saw but is really difficult to watch. "Hard Candy" is disturbing in what it covers and how it's portrayed. Page is so good that you may not recognize the woman from "Juno" as being the same person.
Though Page has crossed over into huge U.S.-based international blockbusters (e.g., "X-Men: Days of Future Past), she still has a strong sense of activism. And she still loves Canada, as she noted to Jon Stewart (just not the tar sands).
Page also gets a nod for being in "Marion Bridge," one of my favorite Canadian films.
Having come out of the closet a year ago, you might not think Page would work in a list of valentines pour moi. Doesn't matter. Page belongs on the list of cool Canadians, beautiful inside and out.
Samantha Bee
The longest-serving correspondent in the history of "The Daily Show," Bee has made us laugh and think over the years. Bee has even had a couple of attempts to sit in the anchor chair, though not enough time to fill an episode combined.
She is funny in every single role she takes on for the show: out in the field, in the studio, and yes, behind the desk.
Bee also brings her Canadian background in several stories, whether it's making fun of the government-owned beer stores or asking us deadpan if we know that Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut.
She is fearless in her comedy; in the picture (at left) from the last time she sat in the Daily Show anchor chair, she wore handcuffs to show she wasn't getting moved from the anchor desk.
With Jon Stewart leaving the show later this year, Samantha Bee would make a great anchor for the show. Or perhaps fellow correspondent (and her husband) Jason Jones could team up with Bee to anchor. If Peter Jennings can do real news, why not have a Canadian at the anchor desk of a fake news show.
Cara Gee
Cara Gee stood out for me in "Empire of Dirt" as the middle of the 3 generations of women featured in the drama about the native people of Canada.
Gee dominates "Strange Empire" as Kat Loving, playing a character as tough as any man in any Western, except her character is fighting for good.
In the pilot episode, Loving loses her husband and her child and fights to protect 2 young women she adopted in order to protect them.
In watching Gee as Loving, you see someone who is beautiful but works hard to be known for everything else but that. Very cool. Kat Loving is a great role, but you would find it difficult to see someone else who could do the role as well as Gee does in the dark Western drama.
Gee was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for best actress for "Empire of Dirt." There is every reason to think Gee will get a nod for "Strange Empire" next year.
Evelyne Brochu
Brochu has been infiltrating several Canadian films that I've enjoyed and one that still puzzles me. The bilingual Quebecois actress has been in "Inch'Allah"; "Café de Flore"; and "Tom at the Farm."
Of course, you might recognize Brochu as Delphine, Cosima's ma petite ami in "Orphan Black."
Brochu's performances are subtle yet memorable as she flows freely in between English and French with little trace of the other language.
Her portrayal of Delphine allows you to hate her and love her at the same time, depending on how helpful she is to Cosima and the fellow clones. That takes talent. You also want to root for the couple.
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photo credits: Orphan Black; Mommy; The Daily Show with Jon Stewart; Strange Empire/CBC
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