Cardinals looks to be a simple, quiet film. A middle-aged woman gets released from prison after serving time for vehicular manslaughter. A young man who was affected by what happened has a lot of questions.
Valerie (Sheila McCarthy) is the woman just out of prison. Mark (Noah Reid) is the young man. We find out that Valerie killed Mark's father. He tells her that his mother killed herself as a result of what happened.
Valerie has two daughters: Zoe (Grace Glowicki) and Eleanor (Katie Boland). Secrets abound in the small town. Eleanor knows more than Zoe does. Zoe tries to maintain a friendship with Mark.
Wendy (Catherine Fitch) is Valerie's best friend from when they worked at the plant. Wendy leaves the plant shortly after the accident.
Jonah (Peter Spence) is Valerie's parole officer. Jim (Peter MacNeill) is still technically Valerie's husband but lives in a different house.
Secrets abound in a small town.
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Often in films, the viewer knows more than some of the characters. The viewer is in as much suspense as some of the characters. You might think you know what is happening but that is mostly speculation. The awkwardness between characters adds to the suspense. The finely crafted screenplay from Grayson Moore and direction from Moore and Aidan Shipley keep the audience in suspense.
The casting is stellar. McCarthy is very understated in her presentation. Reid's character is full of contained anger and questions, a definite departure from his work on Schitt's Creek.
The pacing is slow and deliberate as well as being captivating and you want to know more.
Moore and Shipley weave nice subtle elements into the film such as Strasberg subbing for Stratford (the 2017 film was shot in Stratford, Kitchener, and Barrie in Ontario) and springtime filled with snow.
Cardinals can be considered a psychological drama in the sense of being curious as to what happened as opposed to the Hollywood version designed to freak out the viewers. This film delivers suspense in a more authentic fashion.
Cardinals is available in the United States on Amazon Prime.
video credit: YouTube/TIFF Trailers
photo credit: Cardinals film
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