Good Neighbours could be viewed as a thriller and you can enjoy the movie on that level. The dynamic of neighbours, good and bad, is another prominent theme. The film also triples as a satire, of sorts, of the 1995 Quebec referendum from an anglophone perspective.
If you only know Jacob Tierney's work in front of and behind the camera for Letterkenny, you should find and watch this film.
Spencer (Scott Speedman) and Louise (Emily Hampshire) are friends in the same apartment building. Victor (Jay Baruchel) is moving into the building as the film starts.
Louise works as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant and is obsessed with the serial killer roaming the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montréal. Louise becomes more alarmed after her co-worker Johanne (Kaniehtiio Horn) is the latest victim.
The relationship between Louise, Spencer, and Victor has a few surprising turns. Louise has cats. Victor gets his cat out of quarantine and Louise loves Victor's cat.
Jacob Tierney wrote and directed Good Neighbours adapting the story from the novel Chère Voisine by Chrystine Brouillet.
We often talk about Montréal being a bilingual city, sometimes criticizing a film for ignoring the francophone element of the city. This film specifically takes place in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood (known as NDG) of Montréal. This is an anglophone area of Montréal in the west end. Montréal is generally francophone east of downtown with anglophone areas west of downtown. This film is about this space, where the stop signs say Stop instead of Arrêt.
We are leaving a lot out of the description to avoid spoilers. You will be entertained.
The callsheet also includes Anne-Marie Cadieux, Diane D'Aquila, and Xavier Dolan as well as small roles for Jacob Tierney and his father, longtime producer Kevin Tierney (Bon Cop Bad Cop) in the 2010 film.
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Speedman, Hampshire, and Baruchel have wonderful chemistry and feel very comfortable in this film. This film, along with The Trotsky, is a good way to get into Tierney's early work. Both films feature Baruchel, Hampshire, Horn, and Cadieux.
The film works as a straight ahead thriller with a strong script and excellent acting. The extras are there for those who know Quebec and Montréal.
Good Neighbours is available on demand.
video credit: YouTube/Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing
photo credit: Good Neighbours
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