Picture Claire

Picture Claire is a good movie, with a good storyline and good acting. But when it didn't go into theatres and Bruce MacDonald himself thought poorly upon it, I had to wonder what was wrong with it. (And I wasn't the only one.) I bought it the first moment I saw it in stores. Basically much of the movie's elements aren't up to Bruce MacDonald's standards. Everything he uses to make a good story- the foreshadowing, the slight hinting toward something, the full circle- wasn't as clear in the movie as it was in others as say Hard Core Logo and Dance Me Outside. Some of the things should have been made clearer, such as the reference to the islands, the misogyny of certain characters and their expectations of Claire. The denument itself seemed to fall apart on him. It ended in quite a mess, but the very ending itself, the closing credits, I liked.

So the movie has flaws. Most movies do. And it's not up to MacDonald's standards. Does that mean his fans won't enjoy it. No, his fans will still enjoy it. People who aren't fans will still enjoy it. Though somehow it should have been done better it would still have been worth seeing in theatres.

Finally, after the many Maclean's articles, bad word of mouth, and even rejection by its own director, Picture Claire was finally released to the public in June 2003, via DVD and Video.

I'm puzzled to see how Alliance Atlantis considered "Texas Rangers" to be worthy of a wide release, while they chose to write off their $11 million investment in the first decently-budgeted Canadian film.

With a pair such as Semi Chellas, who writes "The Eleventh Hour" series on CTV, and Bruce McDonald, one of Canada's most satanic directors with "Roadkill" and "Highway 61" under his belt, how could you go wrong?

They did not. This was a stylish, original movie, which was a treat to watch. Adding to the glamour was seeing some of those little things we take for granted in Ontario, such as passports, drivers' licences, and the Maple Leaf plastered up there on the screen, likely on film for the first time. Paul Haslinger's music score was certainly something new and eclectic, along the same lines as Nash The Slash brought in McDonald's earlier films.

There were a few rough edges - Camilla Rutherford's pointless role, Peter Stebbings' over-the-top dorkiness, Gina Gershon's seeming ineptitude with a garretting wire, Juliette Lewis' slow drawl. But what the heck, I liked it and enjoyed it.

This may be Canadian film's ultimate swan song. Check it out before our country's cultural apathy forces the video store to get rid of it.

Excellent film , addicted to it

best neo noir thriller movie

Juliette Lewis convincingly plays Claire, a French speaking woman from Montreal who goes to Toronto in search of a boyfriend. She runs into trouble in Toronto when she is mistakenly ID'd as a suspect who murdered a man in a coffee shop. The unusual twist is that Claire does not know a word of English, all she knows is that she's being pursued by the police, a woman who wants something from her (played by Gina Gershon) and a bad man (played by Callum Keith Rennie) who also wants something from her and probably wants to kill her for it. How can Claire figure all this out, get herself out of trouble and still be able to find her boyfriend?

It's not a great film, there are alot of plot holes and weird coincidences. What really shines are some of the exciting chase scenes and the wonderful acting by everyone in the film. Juliette Lewis doesn't speak much, and when she does, it's in French. She is very watchable because one can see all the emotions she is going through. I really felt for her because she was in a strange city and was pretty helpless because there was no one to guide her. Gina Gershon is perfect as the criminal who is desperately trying to get away. Ms. Gershon seems to always play these roles of tough, smart woman and she does it very well in this film. Callum Keith Rennie makes a very smooth, very charming, psychopathic bad guy. He's very charming when he speaks, but one can't help feeling how dangerous and evil he is. I'd give the film an "A" for acting, a "C" for plot, and a "B" for the director because I like the way how he directed and shot this film. There was this one imagery in the film that I love, when Claire goes into a thrift shop and steal a pair of red shoes that reminds me of the ruby slippers in the "Wizard of Oz" and a little dog from the thrift shop starts following her around. Claire's definitely not in Kansas any more!

This is not the best Bruce MacDonald film, but it is worth viewing once. I'm impressed with the editing, very much so in fact, but the story itself is very predictable. Lewis is good. Gershon is great. I dunno, it's just missing a lot of things that MacDonald is usually good for. I'm unhappy with this film.