Théodore Pellerin

Film Review: AT FIRST LIGHT (Canada 2017) ***

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At First Light Poster
Trailer

The film follows a high school senior, Alex Lainey, who has an encounter with mysterious lights that appear over her small town. She soon develops dangerous, supernatural abilities and …See full summary »

Director:

Jason Stone

Writers:

Jason Stone, Jason Stone (story by) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Théodore Pellerin, Percy Hynes White, Kristin Booth

AT FIRST LIGHT is a low budget Canadian sci-fi suspense drama set in s small American town.  (The film according to the imdb database had shooting locations in Nevada but the closing credits give acknowledgement to the town of Porterville, California.)  AT FIRST LIGHT is impressive for the reason that it is a small film, all departments performing at their best.

Do not expect the special effects of sci-fi first contact blockbusters movies like FIRST CONTACT, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and ARRIVAL.  The only spaceship effects are six or so circular mysterious orbs of lights in the sky that a driver chases at the start of the film.  The best of the special effects are the levitation of a vehicle from the ground.  But these suit the movie.  nothing more elaborate would give the impression of falsehood.

AT FIRST LIGHT is a film about first contact.  This film intelligently shows that first contact need not be physical.  It occurs as light, experienced by Alex (Stefanie Scott) when she swims and is affected by the light of the film title.  She experiences her life flashing through her brain and finally emerges dazed and confused from the contact.  The story starts from this point.

Sean (Théodore Pellerin), her childhood friend who has a crush on her, and Alex go on the run after this close encounter with the mysterious orbs of light.  Alex learns that she has  extraordinary powers that she has no idea how to control – pretty much like SPIDER-MAN  learning how to use his super powers – them.   As the two flee from their families, the police and a covert government agency, Alex and Sean find themselves at the centre of an unprecedented event in human history.  First contact.   As her powers grow stronger and more dangerous, Sean must decide whether staying with Alex and discovering the truth behind her transformation is worth dying for.

The actors, mostly young teens deliver outstanding performances, that should make them rising stars.  A few of them are already well known and have been in other films  The main lead, Alex, played by Stefanie Scott has been in the INSIDIOUS movie.  Théodore Pellerin has been seen in ITS ONY THE END OF THE WORLD and last year’s BOOST, my favourite Canadian film of the year.

The film can cater to cinephiles, sci-fi fans and even teenagers.  Despite its simplified story-line the filmmaker and crew has proven once again it is not the story in the movie that counts, but how the story is told.  AT FIRST SIGHT might not be the best movie of the week but it is certainly the one most worth a look at.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItIz6RAign4&t=5s

Film Review: NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL (Canada 2017)

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Never Steady, Never Still Poster
A mother struggles to take control of her life in the face of advanced Parkinson’s disease, while her son battles his sexual and emotional identity amongst the violence of Alberta’s oil field work camps.

Director:

Kathleen Hepburn

Writer:

Kathleen Hepburn

Stars:

Shirley Henderson, Théodore Pellerin, Mary Galloway

 

NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL are the words that often describe the film’s protagonist’s debilitating disease, a sort of advanced stage of Parkinson’s.  She, Judy has a loving but discontent son – each alienated from their world and struggling to manage in the face of grief, guilt and chronic disease.  At one point in the film Judy (Shirley Henderson) is admired by a friend who describes the situation as ‘How can you be so strong to put up with all this shit?”

NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL is a family drama following a wife/mother, Judy, her loving husband (Nicholas Campbell) and son, Jamie.  Jamie gets a job reluctantly, in the oil fields, but is made fun off because of his scrawny figure.  Judy has to take her medication to keep her Parkinson’s under control, and even when she does, shakes uncontrollably.  Still, she is persistent, does her own shopping and dangerously drives her car.  The husband is not super healthy either and suffers a heart attack a third through the film.

Director Hepburn’s film is heartfelt.  It is really difficult to watch Judy suffer and the boy bullied.  One really feels for them and it will not be surprising that many of the suffering scenes will bring tears to many an audience’s eyes.

Hepburn is fond of keeping the audience on their toes with false alarms.  One scene has the son Jamie (Theodore Pellerin) doing cocaine in his room only to have a knocking at the door from his boss.  Jamie is just delivered a pay cheque.  More tense is the camera showing the car swerving side to side when Judy while driving, is suffering a Parkinson’s episode.  A cop stops her but sends her away with a caution.  And there are other false alarms.

Hepburn is also fond of using hand held camera instead of a mounting her camera on a tripod.  This can be seen in a few scenes that appear with a slightly moving frame.

The film has certain key incidents that affect the lives of both mother an son.  These appear at regular intervals and turns the film in another direction.  The result is good pacing and non-predictability of the story.

The film is also brilliantly shot, courtesy of D.P. Norm Li.  The water of the lake, the snow and ice and the flames of the oil fires all add to the excellent cinematography.

Hepburn also ensures her audience can effectively follow the story.  She gives a summary of the film at mid-point when Jamie explains over the telephone what has happened and how he feels at work, at home and with his mother.

The film is an expansion of Hepburn’s earlier short film of the same title, which had different actors.

NEVER STEADY NEVER STILL shows Hepburn an assured and apt writer and director.  At the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival, the film won three juried awards.  Currently the film has received eight Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress (Henderson), Best Screenplay (Hepburn), Best Cinematography (Norm Li), Best Art Direction/Production Design (Sophie Jarvis and Elizabeth Cairns), Best Sound (Matt Drake, Nate Evans and Christopher O’Brien), Best Editing (Simone Smith) and Best Original Score (Ben Fox).

(Interviews with director and editor are available online.)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP-Kfh6S4c4

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