By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Dane Clark | Linsey Stewart
Starring: Charlie Gillespie | Michaela Watkins | Sandy Jobin-Bevans | Sara Waisglass | Sorika Wolf
Year: 2025
Running time: 93
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20597364/reference/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_2_nm_6_in_0_q_suze
Jeff says: “You will understand within 15 minutes exactly where this story will end up. These are its bones: Two lost souls, initially and profoundly incompatible, find common cause and forge a new relationship leaving them both better off. An archetype. The fun, though, lies in the journey, watching these two sad sacks, despite themselves and given their dysfunctions, redeem each other.
“Susan, i.e., ‘Suze’ (Michaela Watkins) is a middle-aged divorcee whose husband left her, ironically, for someone not much younger than she was. Suze has a loving, but obsessive and overcompensating, attachment to her daughter, Brooke (Sara Waisglass), who is on the verge of graduating from high school. The deal was that Brooke would live at home with her mom and attend a local university. At the last minute, Brooke informs her mother she’s going to move to Montreal, live with her dad, and attend McGill. At the same time, she breaks up with her boyfriend, Gage (Charlie Gillespie), who, after a half-hearted suicide attempt, comes under Suze’s care.
“This is a Canadian production, typified by its portrayal of mostly normal, big-hearted people getting sidetracked by the unexpected exigencies of what should be normal lives (think Wilby Wonderful). It’s comfortable territory for fans of Don McKellar and Daniel Macivor. Watkins does a wonderful job portraying Suze, full of love, but brimful of tics and insecurities. Gillespie is her perfect foil, the laid-back surfer dude who introduces her to cuddle parties but, nevertheless, struggles with his own emotions. Watching these people come to terms with their lives is a perfectly enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half. 4 cats.”