Cardinals

Ok, I get it's a low budget movie. Acting was fair. The story line above average. However the movie was extremely slow. It never had an exciting moment. The ending was poor. Without spoiling anything, what you are led to believe happened at the end would not have happened by actual law. Can think of a much better ending but I think the person deserved what happened and they just wrote it in the story line. Only watch this if you are extremely bored.

.the movie wasnt too bad but it was a struggle to stay engaged. You do feel like if you look away you will miss the thing that explains it all, but like so many indie films, it just ends. The writer ( or whoever was in charge of the film ) couldnt come up with anymore story and said " thats a wrap".the movie wasnt too bad but it was a struggle to stay engaged. You do feel like if you look away you will the movie wasnt too bad but it was a struggle to stay engaged. You do feel like if you look away you will miss the thing that explains it all, but like so many indie films, it just ends. The writer ( or whoever was in charge of the film ) couldnt come up with anymore story and said " thats a wrap".miss the thing that explains it all, but like so many indie films, it just ends. The writer ( or whoever was in charge of the film ) couldnt come up with anymore story and said " thats a wrap". Oh well.

Valerie Walker (Sheila McCarthy) is released from prison after a drunk driving incident sent her away. Her daughters, Eleanor (Katie Boland) and Zoe (Grace Glowicki), bring her home. Her dead victim's son Mark Loekner (Noah Reid) asks her questions about the incident, but the answer is unconvincing. The incident is more complicated than the explanation in court.

There is one big mystery and that's about it. The audience is left waiting and waiting for the slow reveal for an hour. The reveal is way too slow. By the time that everything is laid out on the table, the movie is almost two thirds over. They need to reverse the distribution and reveal much much sooner.

This is an exceptional piece of film work. A very tight, very smart screenplay and an excellent cast make for a terse, intense, complex movie.Sheila McCarthy really is so much of the film's strength. The title role called for a strong, seasoned actor, and McCarthy shows she was more than up to the task. So much is expressed by her without a word; which can also be said of the other expressive actors. Don't pay any attention to the 'Short Attention Span Theater' types calling this film 'slow', 'boring', or how nothing happens. They need to stick to Vin Diesel, Adam Sandler, and rom-coms. The movie's only 84 min. How can it be too slow if it's not even an hour and a half? I'm guessing several were too confused by it much of the way through and were pissed that they couldn't figure out what was up before it was fully revealed. Don't blame the film for being smarter than you.

Take me to your darkest room. Close every window and lock the door. This is kitchen zink realism. Wow! A film that actually tell you a story with the help of dialogue and images. Who does not want to dazzle you with artistry. Or trying to hide that the story is made up along the way. In "Cardinals" we are offered a story with substance. Plus a cast and a crew who knows how to communicate this and more to us, the audience. I am so grateful. This is the play Sam Shepard never got around to write. "It's also the best film that Atom Egoyan never made." (Andrew Parker TIFF)