Niagara Falls is an escape for some on happy vacations. Niagara Motel is an escape for some really sad lives.
Phillie (Scottish actor Craig Ferguson) is the consistently drunk motel manager mourning a loss. Henry and Lily (Peter Keleghan and Wendy Crewson) are a long-time married couple where he is in town for a job interview and they are struggling financially.
Loretta (Caroline Dhavernas) is juggling several men in her life, one of them being the father of her child in utero. Denise (British actor Anna Friel) and as R.J. (Kristen Holden-Ried) have criminal records and are trying to get their baby back from child protective services.
The stories hinge around the motel and neighbouring restaurant. Loretta waits tables at the restaurant with Sophie (Catherine Fitch), daughter of the motel/restaurant owner.
There are relatively seedy elements to some of the stories: Sandy (Krista Bridges) is a prostitute that Lily meets. Michael (American actor Kevin Pollak) wants Loretta to do "sex films."
The stories are sad but interesting. They come from people trying to be better, to improve their lives.
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Niagara Motel is adapted from Suburban Motel, a series of 6 plays from George F. Walker, who wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by Gary Yates. The characters feel real and easy to root for things going better for them.
Great choices for poor lighting to reflect the mood of the characters.
The film is engaging, a true independent film even with relatively known people, even in 2006. Even with well-known people in the cast, everyone involved was really into their characters. Hard to explain but you feel it in watching the film.
One unusual point: the film is shot in English and dubbed in French but the credits are in French. There is also French at times, mostly with Dhavernas, who is bilingual.
Though some of the film was shot in Niagara Falls, the majority of the film was shot in Winnipeg, Steinbach, and Selkirk in Manitoba. Ferguson's time in Manitoba was an impetus to potentially scheduling episodes of his then late night CBS show but that never came to fruition.
Dhavernas was nominated for a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2007 Genies.
Niagara Motel is available in Canada on Crave.
photo credit: Niagara Motel film
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