Perfect Pie (2002)

On the invitation of her childhood best friend Patsy McCann née Willets, famed opera singer Francesca Prine - whose real name is Marie Beck - returns to Marmora, Ontario to sing in a ... See full summary »

Director:

Barbara Willis Sweete

Writers:

Judith Thompson (screenplay), Judith Thompson (play)

Stars:

Wendy Crewson, Barbara Williams, Alison Pill

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wendy Crewson	...	Patsy Willets
Barbara Williams	...	Francesca Prine aka Marie Beck
Alison Pill	...	Marie (age 15)
Rachel McAdams	...	Patsy (age 15)
Jennifer Pisana	...	Marie (age 10)
Brittany Bristow	...	Patsy (age 10)
Tom McCamus	...	Don Rayford
Alex Campbell	...	Don Rayford - age 15
Eli Ham	...	Thug #1
John Dewey	...	Thug #2
Johnny Goltz	...	Thug #3
Noah Shebib	...	Dunford
Kim Schraner	...	Cindy
Jackie Laidlaw	...	Patsy's mother
David Gardner	...	Dentist

Storyline

On the invitation of her childhood best friend Patsy McCann née Willets, famed opera singer Francesca Prine - whose real name is Marie Beck - returns to Marmora, Ontario to sing in a benefit concert. Patsy and Marie were best friends from the time Marie and her family arrived in Marmora when she was ten years old to the time she left Marmora at age fifteen, which was thirty years prior. With the exception of Don Rayford on who Marie had a crush, Patsy was shy Marie's only friend in Marmora. However, Marie and Patsy have not been in touch since due to issues that drove Marie out of town at the time. Those issues include Marie being physically abused by her alcoholic mother, but most specifically what happened the evening of the Sadie Hawkins dance - where Don accompanied Marie - and post dance down by the railroad tracks. Marie and Patsy's reunion may not be able to endure the thirty years of silence and the events of that night.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage girl in underwear | epileptic seizure | multiple time frames | teenage girl in swimwear | female friendship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 2002 (Canada)

Also Known As:

La voie du destin

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Astral Films, Rhombus Media, Téléfilm Canada

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 92 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Uneven small town Ontario film

Some wonderful vignettes but all in all cohesion was missing. A pivotal scene - the very heart of the plot, so to speak, was handled almost dismissively, a real shame. Three time frames are in the movie and sometimes you just don't get quite enough before another time shift. A very mixed bag. Crewson and Williams play off each other beautifully as do their 15 year old selves played by Pill and MacAdams ( one scene of Patsy picking nits out of Marie's hair is particularly poignant). But most of all it played flatly, not enough meat in any scene to grab one and connect one with the characters. Some tightening of the editing and a longer key scene would have increased the horror and given the viewer more of a connection. And one major flaw was that Marie, a hopelessly neglected and filthy child of a down-and-out, alcoholic mother (she apparently does not bathe and smells) is remarkably clean and looks well cared for throughout. At the end the character of Francesca was still at a remove from her audience. 6 out of 10.