MEAN DREAMS
Canadian landscapes shine in this thriller about two fugitive teens on the run,
Mean Dreams (out of 4) Starring Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, Bill Paxton and Colm Feore. Directed by Nathan Morlando. Now playing at Cineplex Yonge-Dundas. 108 minutes. 14A
The stolen money may be American, as per movie custom, but there’s no mistaking the northern Ontario landscapes where Nathan Morlando’s coming-of-age thriller Mean Dreams unfolds.
It’s the magnificent wild of the Canadian Shield around Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where the movie was filmed and where teen lovers Casey and Jonas, played by Sophie Nélisse ( Monsieur Lazhar, The Book Thief) and Josh Wiggins ( Hellion), are fleeing the clutches and the murderous intent of a corrupt cop (Bill Paxton).
The land is strong in this film, as it was last year in Andrew Cividino’s Sleeping Giant, set around Thunder Bay.
It’s Morlando’s second film, following his 2011 feature debut Citizen Gangster, which took the Best Canadian First Feature prize at TIFF that year. He’s progressed by leaps and bounds with his filmmaking, working a screenplay by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby that gives propulsive direction to his skill with developing characters and fully exploiting the big screen.
Morlando draws great performances out of his two young leads, Quebec’s Nélisse and America’s Wiggins, who are like fugitives out of a French New Wave film, discovering love while also hatching a plan on the run.
They’ve had to suddenly leave their rural homes, in the mythical U.S. state of Great Lakes (according to car licence plates), because Jonas has grabbed a big bag of cash from Casey’s abusive bad-cop dad Wayne (Paxton), after furtively witnessing a criminal betrayal that turns into a bloodbath.
The two teens take off, with Casey’s dog in tow, but Wayne isn’t far behind. Neither is the chief (Colm Feore), Wayne’s police superior but equal partner in malfeasance. The road ahead has twists and so does the story.
As good as the two teen actors are — Nélisse,16, reminds me of Anna Karina from Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders and Wiggins, 17, is like a young Matt Damon — they’re almost outdone by the menacing brilliance of seasoned players Paxton and Feore, who don’t often do villains this hiss-worthy.
But none of the actors can outdo the performance of the landscape around them, showcasing the Sault area in fall colours.
The vastness emphasizes the feeling of being lost in love, as when Casey and Jonas say “I love you” to each other for the first time, in a verdant field Morlando reveals by pulling the camera way back.
They are two souls, alone together in a big land that may embrace them or engulf them, with only the road to guide them.