The Stone Angel (2007)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Kari Skogland

Writers:

Margaret Laurence (novel)
Kari Skogland (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sometimes it takes your whole life to get it right.

Plot:

In Manitoba, Hagar Shipley is nearing 90. She has little, she tells us, but her memories. Over several weeks...

Plot Keywords:

Premarital Sex | Sex In Chair | Female Nudity | Run Over By A Train | White Panties

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Ellen Burstyn	...	Hagar
Christine Horne	...	Young Hagar
Cole Hauser	...	Young Bram
Ellen Page	...	Arlene
Sheila McCarthy	...	Doris
Kevin Zegers	...	John
Dylan Baker	...	Marvin
Peter MacNeill	...	Jason
Aaron Ashmore	...	Matt
Luke Kirby	...	Leo
Janet-Laine Green	...	Lottie
Judy Marshak	...	Silver Elms Matron
Doreen Brownstone	...	Silver Elms Bridge Player
Samantha Weinstein	...	Hagar - Child
Ryland Thiessen	...	Telford - Child

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality and brief language.

Runtime:

USA:116 min | Canada:90 min | Canada:115 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A | USA:R (certificate #44521) | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Hartney, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Alliance

Trivia:

During filming, Ellen Burstyn saw on the call sheet a long lost relative who was working on the crew.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The first incident with the freight train is set about 1950 yet it has no caboose. The caboose was not replaced by an electronic monitor on the last freight car until the eighties. It's also more than likely that in that era in western Canada a freight would have been hauled by steam rather than diesel.

Quotes:

Arlene: I want to have a baby.
John: We're broke.
Arlene: We love each other. It'll be a love child.
[they both laugh quietly. meanwhile, Hagar walks silently in and sees what's going on]
John: Well, my mom leaves town in a couple weeks. Then we can get married, and we can talk about having a baby, okay?
Arlene: I don't care about a wedding or anything.
John: You can have whatever you want.
[it becomes more intense; they are both breathing faster]
Arlene: [breathlessly] I want lots of babies.
[then they start having sex and Hagar leaves, having said nothing]

Soundtrack:

Bram's Blues

Powerful - Edgy and Authentic

I had a chance to see a screening of this movie recently. I believe that it will be in theaters in Canada some time around Mother's Day. If it is in a theater near you... GO! It's not a funny feel-good movie - it's more along the lines of a feel and think movie.

The director does an excellent job of character development - letting you into the heart, mind and hurts of Hagar little by little. At first, her attitudes and behaviors don't make much sense. As her story unfolds, she becomes someone you can understand. As in life... understanding brings empathy. I found her likable by the end of the movie - particularly when she opens up her heart to the young man in the shack by the lake.

Hagar's relationship with her two sons is painful - and reflective of so many of our own experiences in this world. Her youngest son, John, who is full of life and adventure takes the viewer to the very edge of their seat - and into the kind of raw emotion that is so authentic and rare.

It's fun to see Ellen Page acting in this movie. She is so very different than the young woman that she plays in Juno. It gives me an even broader appreciation for her acting ability. If you loved her in Juno, you'll love her in The Stone Angel.

Of course, there is Ellen Burnstyn as Hagar. There is likely no way of expressing the power of acting as strongly as the ability for the actor to make you forget every other character they have ever played. Never once in the course of this movie did I ever think of Ellen Burnstyn - I always and only thought of Hagar. She swept me into her character - hook, line and sinker.

Kari Skogland's capacity to capture on film this renowned book by one of Canada's most cherished authors is impressive. She brilliantly brings to the screen both the stoney and angelic parts of this complex woman, Hagar - the stone angel.