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Colewell

Country: united_states

Year: 2019

Running time: 79

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9275046/reference

Michael says: “What a lovely and beautiful film, written and directed by Tom Quinn. It’s a quiet film, with lots of moments of stillness, which is part of the point. Nora is a postal worker, who lives alone in the small Appalachian town in Colewell, PA. Her home also doubles as the town’s post office, and every day, she has her routine, of making coffee and breakfast, collecting eggs from her chickens, sharing those eggs with the regional postal deliverer, setting up her post office, and welcoming the community members who come to pick up their mail, congregate and socialize. It’s a nice life, a quiet life, and one Nora has embraced. She’s been doing it for most of her life, and at 65, she plans on doing it for as long as she is able. That is until the U.S. Postal Service decides to downsize, closing small town post office across the country. When Nora gets her notice of closure, the wind is taken out of her sails and the specter of loneliness looms its head. The community rallies as well, a small town post office is the heart of the community where people gather every day. There’s an interesting side story about a young woman named Ella (Ella – Nora – Eleonora?) who at 26 is hitchhiking from place to place, a true wanderer. She relishes her solitary moments, and in a dinner conversation with Nora, confesses that she doesn’t get lonely. Nora tells her to wait until she gets older and see how that works. The parallels between the two are striking, and one wonders if they are the same person.

“What a joy to see the radiant Karen Allen in the lead role here. There is something about Allen’s face, so open, so able to convey warmth and kindness as easily as loneliness and loss. It doesn’t take more than 5 minutes to understand where she’s coming from and see how content she is in her life. When that live is turn upside-down you can see how it impacts her despite her reserve. Hanna Gross plays Ella, and in her few scenes she is a strong presence. Still but expressive, she makes a lovely parallel to Allen. Writer/Director Tom Quinn is known to Chlotrudis members for his Buried Treasure nominee, THE NEW YEAR PARADE, and the two films certainly have similar feel — they really dig into community, and have a feel of authenticity that is compelling. Susprisingly, Quinn has a background in visual effects, working on another Chlotrudis favorite, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, as well as LET ME IN, the American remake of Chlotrudis nominee, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. He has a great eye for both setting and character, and is not afraid to slow down the pacing to let feelings settle in. High marks for Paul Yee’s cinematography (he also shot Buried Treasure nominee, THE FITS) and the lovely editing by Quinn and Darren Navarro. 4.5 cats“

Chris says: “You just had to mention THE NEW YEAR PARADE to get me to watch this.

“It’s similar to DIANE, another movie from this year about an older woman trying to figure out how to accept aging and change; it’s far less uneven than that film, but also a little less unique. Karen Allen, however, is nearly as good as that film’s lead Mary Kay Place, and I also liked all the scenes with the town citizens, which had a naturalism reminiscent of the director’s previous film. The score was a little irksome at times, but the film had no shortage of lovely moments, particularly one where Allen walks through a mossy ravine in search of a meaningful artifact. 4 cats“

Julie says: “Michael’s review says it all and quite eloquently. This quiet and beautiful movie was quite powerful.  4.625 cats.  I will nominate for screenplay, cinematography,  best actress, no room for best supporting actress as there were so many great ones this year.”I did wonder if the post office was in her house or not,  just like I wondered about the identity thing alluded to that I will leave as a surprise (if you skip the last couple of sentences of the first paragraph below of Michael’s review).

“I got tired last night so finished the movie today and went back through it as there are so many details that are hard to pick up on the first time that are of interest to solve a question you will have  by the end. In the end I found an interview and the script (going through this movie on my system was difficult to go to specific places. Even more interesting as the interview seemed to imply one explanation and  the script another!)”

Colewell

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