Felicia's Journey
First screened in January 2000 / Most recently screened in May 2020
Director: Atom Egoyan. Cast: Elaine Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Peter McDonald, Bríd Brennan, Arsinée Khanjian, Claire Benedict, Gerard McSorley, Danny Turner, Sidney Cole. Screenplay: Atom Egoyan (from the novel by William Trevor).

 Twitter Capsule: Vainly seeks a language, aesthetic, or arc to unpack an encounter between ill-matched, unpersuasive characters.

Second Capsule: Felicia is plausible but flat. Hilditch is a quagmire of ornate conceits. The movie brokers no clear or revealing conversation between them.

Third Capsule: So many affectations flail on their own terms: the flashbacks, the videos, the climactic epiphany... Meanwhile, what's meant to be the core?

VOR: ③  I'm not entirely convinced that every unusual choice in this film is a "risk." Often Egoyan rifles through recurrent motifs. But they don't make these every day.


Photo © 1999 Artisan Entertainment/Alliance Atlantis/Icon Productions

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: C–

(in January 2000: C+)
Awards:
Genie Awards (Canadian Oscars): Best Actor (Hoskins); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Cinematography (Paul Sarossy); Best Original Score (Mychael Danna)
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