“You’re weird, she’s weird…we’re all weird.”
Original Release Date: March, 2017. (Limited Release).
It is not every day that I get to go see a film that I consider an Inspirational Movie Monday themed film at the theatre, but the other day was one of those times. I’ve never heard of this movie until my dad told me that he wanted to go see this movie with me. Which is awesome, I love going to films with him. He said that he heard an interview with the director (Bruce McDonald), talking about the film. It sounded super interesting, so dad, mom and myself decided to go see it, and we were all left impressed.
Unfortunately, this review will be quite a lot shorter than my other ones as I do not recognize any of the actors, so their filmographies will be limited, due to the fact that I haven’t seen anything else these wonderful actors have done, and I only put films in actors filmography that I have seen and therefore recommend, but I’m going to do my best. Lets get into it.
Weirdos is a Coming of Age Drama and Comedy film about the end of the Vietnam war, two young adults, Kit and his girlfriend Alice runaway from home in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and hitchhike their way to Sydney, Cape Breton during the summer of 1976.
The film is directed by Bruce McDonald. I thought this film was well directed, it showed off the young characters story beautifully and honestly, I don’t know if you can get much better having Nova Scotia as your landscape to set a story in. The cinematography, the way the camera was moved and the style that McDonald brought to the film was excellent. Its also really neat to note that this film was shot in black and white, however the film still looked gorgeous when the camera panned across the landscape, and through the trees.
The film is written by Daniel Maclvor. I thought MacIvor did a good job with the script and writing his characters very well. I thought all the characters had a great sense of chemistry, and there was some great comedic movies and quips, which is why I decided that it should be considered a slight comedy film as well, and not just a drama. Also it was a brilliant coming of age story, which I have been quite fond of lately, they’re always great and they make for a great place to write an Inspirational Movie Monday.
Weirdos stars Dylan Authors as Kit, Julia Sarah Stone as Alice, Rhys Bevan-John as Andy Warhol, Allan Hawco as Dave, and Molly Parker as Laura.
Dylan Authors’ filmography consists of Falling Skies {TV Series} (2011-2015). I am not familiar at all with Authors’ work, but I thought he did a great job in this movie as Kit. He was down to earth, he was different, and he was weird, but he definitely played it off well. I thought he did a great job capturing the character.
Julia Sarah Stone’s filmography consists of Falling Skies {TV Series} (2011-2015), and The Killing {TV Series} (2011-2014). I think its super interesting that they were both in Falling Skies, I don’t remember their characters though. But I like to think that Dylan Authors and Julia Sarah Stone’s characters have came across each other in Falling Skies multiple tines, because I thought that they shared a wonderful sense of chemistry with one another. Julia Sarah Stone’s character of Alice actually stole the show for me, as her character and her way of portraying it was just great. I saw a lot of myself in her, which actually, I saw a lot of myself in the whole cast of this movie.
Rhys Bevan-John’s filmography consists of Hobo With A Shotgun (2011). I thought Rhys Bevan-John did a great job as Andy Warhol in this movie. Whenever he was on screen it was a little weird, but he delivered some very genuine comedic moments and actually some of my favourite and stand out lines from the film. The beginning quote actually was one of his from the film, and it has stuck in my mind ever since the credits rolled.
Allan Hawco’s filmography consists of Republic of Doyle {TV Series} (2010-). Allan Hawco plays Dave, Kits father in the film. I thought that he did a nice job as Dave, he was really laid back, and “cool” as he was described multiple times in the movie. I don’t know what else really to say about him to be honest, you felt for him as an audience member, but after he was talked about by Kit, you started to hate him. I don’t want to ruin anything, but its a very interesting arc that this character goes through.
Last but not lease, Molly Parker’s filmography consists of Six Feet Under {TV Series} (2001-2005), The Wicker Man (2006), Deadwood {TV Series} (2004-2006), The Road (2009), and Dexter {TV Series} (2006-2013). Parker played Kit’s mother in the film. Much like Hawco, I thought that Parker did a good job playing Laura. I think she had the hardest role to really get down, as her character was changed on a dime, she went from one state of happiness to a completely different state of mind on a dime, she was definitely a bit manic depressive, and I think thats a very interesting state to see an actor change into. You need to have this very subtle balance between the characters, and it definitely shows in this movie.
I thought all the characters in this movie were very well selected and did a great job in this movie. The movie’s title is Weirdos and I felt like there were a whole arrange of different types of weirdos that this cast portrayed. Its a wonderful cast with a wonderful story.
I did feel however around the hour mark that there was a bit of some pacing issues, I felt myself starting to dwindle with the film a little bit, which isn’t a good thing considering the film is only an hour and 20 minutes or so, I don’t know if it was just me though, as I was feeling a little lazy throughout the day. I’d like to rematch this film again for sure, and see if that feeling changes.
This film left me inspired. I was inspired by roughly everyone of these characters, especially with Kit and Alice. This movie shows that everyone has their own quips, and quirks, that make them unique and that make them weird. Everyone is weird, its the ones that seem normal that are the ones that we don’t know well enough. Kit felt like he didn’t belong in Antigonish, and felt like going to Sydney would change that, and I feel like a lot of people feel that way when they feel stuck. They think “well I feel stuck here, but if I uproot and move to such a place, that maybe I’ll fit better, maybe things would be different.” Alice felt like she was doing what was right for Kit in helping him get there, so that he would eventually see the light and decide to stay around her, She wanted to help him, not just because of her relationship with Kit, but also wanted him to be around more because of their relationship. Its okay to be weird, its okay to be different. I think every character in this movie you can see a bit of yourself in, you can assimilate with depending on the mood.
I think this movie got to me a bit more, as I have now lived in Nova Scotia for about 12 years, and even more so because I lived in Antigonish for 4 years, and have ended up going to Sydney a handful of times to visit friends. I could see myself in these places and in these characters, which made it a unique watching experience.
I highly recommend this film to all my East Coast friends, so that they too can see the beautiful landscape we live in, and I recommend this film to anyone who likes a well crafted coming of age film. Hopefully you find some inspiration in it as well.
I give Weirdos a 4/5 from me.
Until next time, stay inspired!
-Andrew