October Gale (2014) Reviews

• Nadda Bring Nadda Thing

  theSachaHall2015-02-21

  Premiering during a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), October GALE is a dramatic thriller that's too devoid of tension to be considered thrilling and far short of emotional and relatable characters to be considered dramatic. It's a shame because the opening sequence of sweeping Parry Sound long shots and Steadicam shots of Helen (Patricia Clarkson) opening and cleaning the family's vacation cottage offered a promising segue into what appears to be (on the surface), a study in normative bereavement with a murderous twist. Likewise, the film's setting is a beautiful contradiction of comfortable isolation that quickly dissipates as the story's nonsensical and improbable choices become too incredulous to be believable. Grieving the loss of her husband (played in silent flashbacks by Callum Keith Rennie) in a wild storm the previous year, Toronto doctor Helen Matthews (Clarkson) decides to return to her family's isolated cottage in an effort to move on. After single-handedly opening up the warm and comforting home in Georgian Bay, Helen begins the arduous task of sifting through and removing some of the mementos accumulated during their 32-year marriage. The visual and aural planes of this transition from acceptance to perseverance are well crafted; the non-diegetic musical score gives way to diegetic empathetic sounds of the bay that feel crisp and renewing. Fortuitously so considering Helen shortly thereafter comes face-to-face with an unexpected and mysterious gentleman (Scott Speedman) crawling and bleeding on her floor with a gunshot wound. After treating his wound and grabbing her rifle, Helen waits for the stranger to wake up and when he does, Will is vague about the attack and about his life thus far until local handyman Al (Aidan Devine) decides to pay Helen an unexpected visit. Will relents and reveals that he had spent time in prison for manslaughter after a bar-fight and that the guy's father 'is not going to stop until he's killed me'. As the storm gains momentum outside, Helen agrees (stupidly I might add) to allow Will to stay in her home as they lazily prepare themselves for Al and the gunman to return. The script here is utter wish-wash: writer/director Ruba Nadda (INESCAPABLE) fails to build any suspense and tension for the ensuing action causing it to fall flat, it fails to explain how Helen's appears to be a survivalist doctor who's also a crack shot, nor the circumstances of Will's incarceration and Helen's inconceivable trust in a man she just met. Clarkson and Speedman should however, be applauded for their performances: extracting every nuance they could from their two-dimensional characters to at least be creditable. Overall, if 'it's OK' are the only two words I can come up with after 91 minutes, it's probably safe to say you might want to wait to watch it on video. You can catch me on my handle @TheSachaHall or at The Hollywood News.

  More

• Very slow and very disappointing and not a whole lot more

  Seth_Rogue_One2015-07-21

  I was wondering why this movie with a such a good cast like Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman and Tim Roth managed to have a mere 5.1/10 (current rating when writing this review) But when I started watching it, it started to make sense In the first half hardly nothing of substance happens and there are plenty of everyday scenes of Patricia Clarkson reading a book or remembering a romantic moment with her husband or fixing with the wood- pile for the fireplace and stuff like that with very little dialogue as she's by herself in the beginning Tim Roth doesn't show up until the last 20 minutes, he's supposed to be menacing but comes off as bored The plot itself also doesn't make a lot of sense to me, it's extremely simple really but the characters relations to one each other are daftly written, and it's boring, extremely slow and could have easily been cut down 30 minutes and you wouldn't have missed anything

  More

• More of a nondescript breeze, actually...

  natashabowiepinky2015-02-24

  October Gale is a VERY apt name for this film. Like the wind, it blows briefly... And then is gone from the memory for good, leaving behind no trace it was ever there. At least the last film I reviewed, as irredeemably dreadful as it was, gave me something to talk about. This one sets up the most minor of conflicts, and proceeds to follow it to the most predictable outcome... All the while, dwelling on uninteresting scenes to pad out the length to 90 minutes, and giving us a romance/friendship which fails to convince on any level. After finding this gunshot wound victim on her estate on her island, the heroine is nowhere near a hospital and lacks the requisite supplies to treat him. So, leaving him ALONE... She gallivants off to buy what she needs from the mainland. This is just the start of many risks she takes with this stranger, who for all she knows could be a murderer. Yet, within a few days from being at death's door, he's up and about... Saving her life after she accidentally falling into the sea and exchanging stories with her about each other's 'dark pasts'. She's just lost her husband (As we're constantly reminded through tiresome flashbacks) and he's on the run after killing his adopted brother. Gripping. NOT. 60 minutes of brainless fluff ensues. Things get a LITTLE (In the mildest sense of the word) more interesting when the bloke's dad turns up to AVENGE HIS REAL CHILD, and we think we're going to get a bit of action. No such luck. More talking, more walking-around-in-the-dark-not-doing-very-much, and the most obvious of conclusions. YAWN. It all feels like a placeholder for another film, one with proper characters, not these off-the-shelf one-dimensional cyphers. When you've found it, can I watch that one instead, Pls? 4/10

  More

• Art majors, get your paint brushes ready!

  powell-yendi2015-02-06

  An injured Adonis turns up at the doorstep of a beautiful older widow. Sounds cute, right? Well it is. This movie is meant for an older crowd (I'd say 30+), because there is not much action or activity. It's a gloomy movie, about people who are grieving over their respective tragedies. Nevertheless, it is very artistically done. There are so many beautiful views in this movie that around 88% of the scenes would make expensive paintings. I assume that the low rating has to do with how slow the movie feels to those who require acrobats and car explosions. October Gale doesn't have those visual effects because it is realistic fiction that was meant to be artsy and romantic. I highly recommend this movie to art majors and professors.

  More

• Cinematographic sometimes a joy to look at, but the content missed a little panache and passion.

  peterp-450-2987162015-02-28

  "Helen, if you let him in, we are both dead." What do I remember of "October Gale" after watching it ? Strange but true, the soundtrack eventually made the biggest impression on me. Melancholic piano music wonderfully fitting the state of mind of Helen Matthews (Patricia Clarkson) . The entire film is carried by the compositions of Mischa Chillak. And especially the beautiful and fragile number "Close Watch" of Agnes Obel playing at the beginning of the film, while Helen navigates her boat over the huge lake to civilization, was perfect at that moment in the film. The modest and understated performances by Clarkson and Speedman (William) were outstanding. And afterwards I also had the desire to travel to such a remote island where you can stay undisturbed. But these are ultimately the only positive things I can think of. It's a fairly empty and uninspired film. "October Gale" described as a thriller, with a touch of drama and romance in it. But ultimately it's only a brief sketch about Helen's process of handling the loss of her husband, with varying emotions coming up. There was a brief moment of romance in the present and a lot of it in the flashbacks. And to label it as a thriller, they really should have come up with a bit more tension since that section was extremely limited. Helen Matthew, apparently a doctor, goes to an island in Ontario where she and her late husband James (Callum Keith Rennie) used to spend their weekends and holidays in a weekend cottage that has been already 100 years in possession of James' family. Apparently, the only purpose of this trip is to finally clean up that cabin and come clean with the past. An entire cleaning operation so to say. This is accompanied by painful memories and tangible confrontation with the past. When it's all a bit to much to her, she decides to go and buy a new fuse. After some delay she returns to the island, while a powerful storm arises. In the course of the evening she finds the wounded young man William (Scott Speedman) with a gunshot wound in his shoulders and who gives, after being taken care of, a vague explanation about what happened to him. A simple story which is shown on the big screen in a simple way. At first I thought it was intriguing and fascinating. I was waiting for how the story would develop. But in the end I realized I was still waiting for it. By the time the denouement with the ultimate confrontation came, it was finished before I knew it. If you think this movie will end with a bang, I can already tell you that the curtain will fall with two modest bangs. There were also some dubious facts that made me frown my forehead. Most of these seemed to be rather far-fetched, and some weren't very logical. I found it odd that there were no spare fuses in the cabin, but the moment Helen takes care of the injured William, she magically pulls out a complete surgical equipment with all kinds of forceps, scissors and disinfectant. Did they have that cottage already when she was an intern in a hospital? Did she use these instruments to practice on her boyfriend at that time? Or is it simply too dangerous to stay on this island? And the way James exchanged the fuses afterwards made me chuckle. A university degree is no guarantee for thinking logical and practical apparently. The fact she couldn't connect with her cell phone, while this really wasn't a problem in the beginning, made clear that communication waves in these parts of the country aren't really weatherproof and are blown to all directions at the slightest storm. It was also totally incomprehensible to me where those emotions between the two protagonists suddenly came from. There was no apparent reason for that. Perhaps the intimacy during the operation and the additional care, created the charged atmosphere and ensured the chemical reaction between Helen and William. And apparently it's custom in those parts that after getting punched in the face, you'll make some coffee for the attacker. But the most annoying thing was the fact that the whole affair about William wasn't explained. Eventually I wanted to know what had happened and what caused it. "October Gale" feels like an admirable attempt. But this attempt to make something of it, fails unfortunately and results in a calmly developing film with a mix of emotions. The melancholy and letting go of the past, the absence of affection and the moment someone can feel it back again and the ultimate suspense with vengeance as a central motif. The performances weren't the problem. Especially Clarkson provided a serene and wonderful performance, despite the limited script. Even Speedman sparkled at times, but I guess he was necessary to attract a female audience. The only one who was pretty disappointing (his limited role probably had something to do with it), was Roth. He acted as if he had just flown over briefly to finish the job. Conclusion: Cinematographic sometimes a joy to look at, but the content missed a little panache and passion. More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be

  More