Characters you want to root for

NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL

★★★★ outof5

Cast: Shirley Henderson, Théodore Pellerin Director: Kathleen Hepburn Duration: 1h52m When Vancouver filmmaker Kathleen Hepburn won the most promising director of a Canadian short film prize at the 2015 Vancouver International Film Festival, she apparently took it to heart. Never Steady, Never Still, her feature debut, is an expanded version of her 18-minute short of the same name.

Shirley Henderson stars as Judy, a woman dealing with the advance of Parkinson’s disease while living in a remote community on the B.C. coast. Her 18-year-old son Jamie (Théodore Pellerin) is physically hale but emotionally fragile. There’s also Mary Galloway as Kaly, grocerystore clerk who proves to be helpful for both mother and son.

Hepburn paints a sympathetic portrait of damaged men and women struggling to get by, uncertain if they’ve got what it takes. “Not a strong man,” says Judy’s friend, explaining why he missed someone’s funeral. And Jamie remembers letting go of his dog when his dad was removing porcupine quills. He couldn’t stand hearing its cries, but when he released his hold, the dog ran off and never came back.

ThemoviewasshotinB.C.and makes the most of its natural scenery, and of the slow progress of seasons. You’ll root for Hepburn’s characters to lift themselves out of troubled places, and with good reason: They’re stronger than they at first seem, and more resilient than they give themselves credit for.