Esta Spalding
In Deepa Mehta's poignant and heartbreaking romance, Emilia Fox plays Fay, a generally content, thirtysomething Torontoite suffering in a relationship of quiet desperation with her boyfriend; Bruce Greenwood is Tom Avery, a loser in the ways of romance with three broken-hearted marriages behind him, who hosts a late-night call-in radio program. The two meet and grow deeply smitten with one another, but must ultimately learn to accept one another unconditionally. Life seems just about perfect, until an unforeseen calamity challenges everything Fay has come to rely on as stable and solid. Mehta adapted the novel of the same title by Canadian author Carol Shields. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Greenwood, Emilia Fox, (more)
Canadian filmmaker Scott Smith directs the black comedy Falling Angels, based on the novel by Barbara Gowdy and adapted for the screen by poet and author Esta Spalding. Set in the late '60s and filmed on-location in Saskatchewan, this dark family drama focuses on the three teenaged daughters of the Field household. Callum Keith Rennie plays Jim Field, the loud-mouthed, domineering patriarch who has intimidated his wife Mary (Miranda Richardson) into a catatonic state of alcoholism and depression. Norma (Monté Gagné) is the oldest, most responsible daughter; she is overburdened and preoccupied by events from the past. Middle child Lou (Katharine Isabelle) chooses the rebellious path in order to escape her father's unreasonable demands. Youngest daughter Sandy (Kristin Adams) aspires to maximum femininity, engaging in an affair with an older, married man (Mark McKinney) in the process. Falling Angels was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Richardson, Callum Keith Rennie, (more)
- 1998
One of the most successful Canadian drama series of the late 1990s, Da Vinci's Inquest was also one of the CBC's slickest efforts -- not to mention one of the most realistic. Nicholas Campbell starred as Dominic Da Vinci, a former cop who worked as a police coroner in Vancouver. Like Quincy before him, Da Vinci used his official capacity to right wrongs, help those in distress, and in general boldly go where the "regular" cops feared to tread. In this he was assisted by a number of friends, business associates, and family members, who frequently found themselves in jeopardy, obligating the hero to effect a last-minute escape. Compared by some critics to the American TVer Homicide (albeit with a bit more melodrama), the series was created by Chris Haddock, who also wrote many of the 60-minute teleplays. Da Vinci's Inquest began its long and profitable CBC TV run on October 7, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
