Sorry for Your Loss presents a lot on the plate of Ken Wall (American actor Justin Bartha). His wife just gave birth recently. Ken wants to open a restaurant. His job isn't going too well. His estranged dad has just passed away.
Ken isn't too eager to go to Winnipeg but his wife Lori (Israeli actor Inbar Lavi) encourages him to make the trip.
Ken encounters Jeff Steadman (Bruce Greenwood) and Vince Kendall (Kevin McDonald). They tell Ken there is an inheritance with one catch. He has to throw the ashes onto the astroturf at Investors Group Field. This is the stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the University of Manitoba. Jeff and Vince can't say how much the inheritance is, but Ken has 48 hours to accomplish the task.
Writer/director Collin Friesen offers a mediocre script and an odd motivation for his protagonist. Bartha, as Ken, comes across as boring and cold in his performance. He doesn't seem excited about the inheritance, which would help him open his restaurant. He doesn't seem happy or excited or angry or even sad about any of these things. Jeff and Vince aren't given a consistent tone in setting up the odd requirements.
Jeff is rather racist and there is a wheelchair used under false pretenses. The themes seemed unnecessary in the otherwise quiet 2018 film.
Greenwood and McDonald know they are in a film stuck with not-so-great dialogue and are valiant in their efforts to keep the film moving along. Lavi also works harder than the film does as well.
Sandrine Holt plays a temptress for Ken. Holt is an amazing actress who is definitely acting to be that interested in the rather boring Ken.
American actor Lolita Davidovich plays Ken's mother Eve. She doesn't have much chemistry with her son, which feels like a choice made by Friesen.
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Investors Group Field, now IG Field, looks really great in the film. The stadium looks beautiful and feels like the star of the film. We don't see much of Winnipeg otherwise in the film. Given the context of Ken's dad, those memories would have been at Canad Inns Stadium, which closed down after the 2012 CFL season.
Sorry for Your Loss has a lot of acting talent and the basic structure of a decent film. The writing and direction need a lot of work.
The film is available on Showtime in the United States and Crave in Canada.
video credit: YouTube/Farpoint Distribution
photos credit: Sorry for Your Loss
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