Suspicious River (movie post)
(posting for gothamnights / gothamnights.wordpress.com)
Suspicious River, based on the novel by Laura Kasischke, tells the story of Leila Murray (Molly Parker), a hotel clerk in a loveless marriage who begins to sell sexual favors to her customers. One of these customers, Gary Jensen (hello, Callum!) takes a particular interest in her, and Leila is seduced by him in spite of (and perhaps because of) the darkness she senses within him.
The IMDB page: Suspicious River (2000)
Director is Lynne Stopkewich, most famous for Kissed, also starring Molly Parker. Stopkewich also directed episodes of The 'L' Word, Da Vinci's Inquest, and Bliss, shows in which CKR has guest-starred (though she didn't direct his episodes). Molly Parker has worked with CKR on numerous ocassions, most notably Twitch City; Hard Core Logo; The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky; and Little Criminals. Deanna Milligan and Sarah-Jane Redmond worked with CKR in the "Ugly-Quick" episode of Da Vinci's Inquest. Sarah-Jane Redmond also costarred with Callum in The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Ingrid Tesch, who was in Battlestar Galactica: Razor, has played Callum's wife twice: in Suspicious River and in the pilot for Tru Calling. Jay Brazeau, one of Leila's clients in SR, worked with Callum in the "Lazarus" episode of The X-Files.
Cast / Characters:
Molly Parker
Callum Keith Rennie
Mary Kate Welsh
Joel Bissonnette
Deanna Milligan
Sarah-Jane Redmond
Norman Armour
Byron Lucas
Ingrid Tesch
Leila Murray
Gary Jensen
Young girl
Rick Schmidt
Millie
Bonnie, the mother
Jack, the father
Uncle Andy
Gary's wife
Year: 2000
Runtime: 92 Minutes
Country: Canada
IMDB rating: 5.8/10 (386 votes)
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Female Nudity, Pimp, Group Sex, Rough Sex, Nudity, Fellatio, Female Frontal Nudity, Adultery, Sadomasochism, Sexual Abuse, Gang Rape, Passive Resistance, Sexless Marriage, Prostitute, Trauma, Violence, Based On Novel
Awards:
-Nominated for Grand Prix Award at the Bratislava International Film Festival
-Leo Award Nominations:
- Best Director of Feature Length Drama (Lynne Stopkewich)
- Best Musical Score of Feature Length Drama (Don MacDonald)
- Best Overall Sound of Best Feature Length Drama
- Best Performance of Feature Length Drama - Female (Molly Parker)
- Best Picture Editing of Feature Length Drama (Allan Lee)
- Best Screenwriter of Feature Length Drama (Lynne Stopkewich)
- Best Cinematography of Feature Length Drama (Gregory Middleton)
- Best Feature Length Drama
- Best Performance of Feature Length Drama - Male (Callum Keith Rennie)
There are 17 IMDB User comments. They are about evenly split down the middle between those that love the film and those that loathe it. The people who hate it cite the disturbing themes of the film as a big turn-off, and say that it goes overboard in being disturbing (they also seemed to be under the impression that it was going to be a 'fun, sexy' film, or a love story, which it's not). Those that love it praise it for its unflinching exploration of those same themes, as well as the spectacular performances by the leads. In fact, even those that hate it tend to like the performances (Callum receives almost universal praise for his role in this). It was difficult to find a review to post, since the reviews for this film tend to spoil a major plot-point, so I settled on the one below.
One example:
I read quite a few reviews here before I opted to buy Suspicious River. I had heard quite a bit about it while it was filming, but then was a bit put off on actually buying it. I finally did and am glad I did.
I've become a fan of Canadian film the last few years and find that many of them could be considered 'disturbing' by some. I didn't find Suspicious River all that disturbing, but an interesting view of a young woman fighting her demons. Certainly this film was no more disturbing than, say, Crash or The Sweet Hereafter. I thought the film was extremely well done. Both Parker and Rennie did justice to their roles. I never considered Parker's lack of emotion to be a flaw, but an integral part of her character.
Probably a bit too edgy for mainstream audiences, with its long silences and scenery shots, but for me, it all enhanced the mood of the film. I've found I really enjoy the smaller scale, more character driven films by Canadian filmmakers. It's also fun, since the pool of Canadian actors is much smaller than in the US and therefore, you get to see actors playing a multitude, very different parts. I enjoyed the film very much.
You can find all the comments here.
Callum Quotient:
Technically, he's there for about 50% of the picture, but he feels like he's there a lot more, since his character is felt even in scenes that Callum doesn't inhabit.
Pictures:
(borrowed from c_regalis, Cap it! Before I Die of Waitin'!, and Scriggle)
Quotes:
- Gary: Want a beer?
Leila: I can't; I'm working.
Gary: Well, you can come up here and give blowjobs to total strangers, but they won't let you drink a beer?! - Leila: So why'd you hit me, then?
Gary: Sweetheart, I have no idea. That's the truth. Something sick in me, I guess. - Gary tries to start a conversation with Leila in the pouring rain:
Gary: Whoo, sure is a beautiful day! - When Leila finishes her services in one of the rooms, she runs into Gary, who has been waiting for her outside:
Gary (grabbing her roughly): Jesus, sweetheart, how often have you been doing this anyway? Huh? How often? - Gary: I wanted you to stay at the motel with me.
Leila: You wanted me?
Gary: Oh, yeah, all to myself. And I want you to trust me, cuz I feel like you should trust me, but now I realize how fucking dumb that is! I mean, why the hell should you trust me?! Why the fuck should you trust me?!
Trivia:
- The film takes place in the early 80s, so Molly and and the director went to pick out vintage clothes for her character to wear.
- There is a recurring theme of birds and flight in the design, in everything from Molly's shirt to the little girl's room decorations.
- Two of Leila's customers (the abusive Ball-Cap Man and Don S. Davis) went on to star in Stargate SG-1.
- Callum bought a learning kit which he wore throughout filming, so he could change his accent to be more American Western.
- Joel Bissonnette, who plays Leila's husband, would eventually become Molly's brother-in-law.
Interesting scenes:
- Leila's introduction to Gary, and their subsequent first encounter in the hotel room: it is very interesting to see both Molly and Callum's acting here. He hits her, and after her initial shock, she yearningly offers herself to him again. In the meantime, he's trying to ascertain whether she'll go along with it, or run off in anger, again, without any words.
- Gary's apology. Director Lynn Stopkewich said that Gary, as written on paper, was more one-dimensional, but Callum was determined to make him more real, so he added genuine feelings of confusion/remorse to Gary's apology.
- There scene in bed, when she stops charging Gary, because Callum is HOT!
- The scene in the car, during their daytrip. This is a scene that encapsulates Gary perfectly (and displays Callum's talents as an actor), as he is simultaneously charming, cruel and creepy. The film wouldn't work if he couldn't do all three things at once. In this scene, he delivers the same line again, again, and again, each time differently and more sinisterly, until what starts out as a compliment ends up as a threat.
- Leila's remembrance of her childhood. This is an amazing bit of acting by Molly Parker.
Do I want to show this to my parents / friends / co-workers?
Poll Suspicious River
Gary Jensen
Poll Gary Jensen
Does he die?
You really want to know? Are you sure? Really sure? Well, then. (highlight to read)
::He doesn't die.::
Articles/interviews/Reviews:
Review from the BBC:
Molly Parker's detached anti-hero is compelling, while Callum Keith Rennie can do mysterious, sympathetic, and menacing with equal conviction.
From The BBC.
From the Edmonton Journal (Sepember 12, 2000):
He shoots, He scores: Edmonton's own Callum Keith Rennie, who got his start in a late 80's Fringe production of American Buffalo, is here with Suspicious River, the latest from director Lynn (Kissed) Stopkewich. It's a gutsy performance from Rennie, and a daring film from the Canadian director who made necrophilia, well, understandable.
Found here.
From the Edmonton Journal (March 25, 2001):
He's been compared to both James Dean and Brad Pitt, but Callum Keith Rennie is his own man, plain and simple. The Edmonton-raised actor has worked with nearly every Canadian director of note, from Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) to David Cronenberg (eXistenZ), though he's probably best recognized for his role opposite Paul Gross on the Mountie-out-of-water dramedy Due South. Rennie popped up on screen twice during last week's Local Heroes International Film Festival, appearing in Memento and co-starring with Molly Parker in Lynne Stopkewich's Suspicious River.
Found here.
From The Edmonton Sun (March 22, 2001):
Suspicious River sees Rennie playing a dangerous drifter who fulfils Molly Parker's character's disturbing desires."In the book (by author Laura Kasischke) the character is described as unremarkable, and I kind of liked that," Rennie said. "He wasn't this, he wasn't that. He's one of those characters that's a fine line to play, so he's somewhat sympathetic in some way."
From The CKR Files.
"The Tao of Callum Keith Rennie"- From TAKE ONE, December 2001
But his image is something Rennie seems to be actively toying with, instead of catering to what has been attributed to him. His character of Gary Jensen in Lynne Stopkewich's Suspicious River strays into something new - malevolence. Blithely referred to as a Canadian Belle du jour, this film is based on Laura Kasischke's novel about Leila Murray (Molly Parker), a lonely motel receptionist who allows her submissive nature to be sexually exploited by guests in an effort to find some measure of control in her life. She meets Jensen (Rennie), a stranger who at first protects her and then seduces her into participating in her own destruction. The difference between the two films is that the resolution in Belle du jour is limited to plot strategy, while in Stopkewich's film there is emotional closure as well.
In Suspicious River, Rennie is almost unrecognizable when he first appears on screen. He has bulked up, losing the whimsical degenerate silhouette that was part of his cachet. Yet, in his character there is something that speaks both to and from the actor, almost a domestic familiarity with the wasteland that is Jensen. "There's a cliched form in playing the bad guy, a Hollywood-type of bad guy," says Rennie. "It's a very hard thing to break away from. Lynne's film is so realistic and she keeps it at a low hum, like a monotonous sickness, that Jensen couldn't be a character that pops or is telegraphed in anyway that is obvious. Most people who are bad are slow to show their form. He believes he isn't wrong - the joyous Gary Jensen."
"I forced Callum to cram himself into an extremely tight pair of jeans for this movie," Lynne Stopkewich laughs. "I've wanted to work with him ever since I saw him in Mina's Double Happiness. I wanted to be the director to really push him, to be the one who was going to give him something he could really sink his teeth into and do something phenomenal. And I have to say I think his performance in Suspicious River is the finest I've ever seen from him. I drove him crazy, but he was incredibly generous. He just said to me, 'Make me your meat puppet.'"
Languid malignancy - a character tumour played out, dominating its host - Rennie dials evil down to a murmur in Suspicious River. No faux elegance, no glib intellectualizing, nothing to distract from the complete ordinariness of the personality.
Transcript from The CKR Files, scans available here.
Regarding Callum's approach to Gary:
Here's the infamous Gary Jensen, played by Callum Keith Rennie, who is a Canadian actor, very well known, and very accomplished. You know, I really think that this is one of Callum's finest roles. He really pulled out all the stops with this, and brought a life to the character that far exceeded what was written on the page. I think Gary is one of those characters that would be very easy to hate, and what was great about working with Callum was that he insisted on making Gary real, and for him to have his own vulnerabilities and his own flaws, and I think that's what really brought a life to this character and really, in a sense, made the attraction between Leila and Gary real, because they're both flawed, and they can see it in each other. That's what brings them together.
From Lynne Stopkewich's Directo's Commentary on the Region 1 Tartan DVD (10:50).
Regarding Molly's working relationship with Callum:
Another one of my favorite things to do is to cast actors opposite Molly that she knows realy well....they had automatic chemistry, and the same is definitely true in Suspicious River between Molly and Callum, who are also longtime friends and have worked together before. So, in a sense, it made my job a lot easier.
From Lynne Stopkewich's Directo's Commentary on the Region 1 Tartan DVD (12:35).
Regarding Gary's apology for hitting Leila:
This is one of my favorite moments in the entire film, and in Callum's performance. It was quite extraordinary, because, of course, I'm a big fan of these screaming close-ups. It gets to be quite tiresome, I think, for an actor to have the camera about three inches from their face, but I just really love to see what's going on in their eyes. I remember when we were shooting the scene, that Callum kind of hit this emotional peak, where he really seems- Gary really seems- to really be struggling with his violent intention and where he's been hurting in his life, and his own understanding of why he's "bad." When we were shooting the scene, I recall Molly turning around after a take, and facing me with this look. I mean, her mouth was just hanging open; she was just quite blown away by Callum's performance. She was really worried because we were gonna turn around, and shoot her material, and she was worried about being able to match the intensity of his performance in that scene.
From Lynne Stopkewich's Directo's Commentary on the Region 1 Tartan DVD (19:50).
Regarding the scene where Gary asks Leila about her past:
It's interesting cuz he's listening to her, on the one hand, taking in more information about how he can set her up. On the other hand, the way Callum's playing him, you can see that he probably has a very similar story himself. He's as compelled to be with her as she is with him.
From Lynne Stopkewich's Directo's Commentary on the Region 1 Tartan DVD (49:30).
Links:
Press Notes from the movie (containing spoilers).
Wikipedia entry for Suspicious River (I made it as detailed as possible, so it's full of spoilers).
The Tao of Callum Keith Rennie- highly recommended article mentioned above, in which Callum discusses his approach to Gary and to acting in general.
c_regalis posted picspam for SR here.
stormymouse posted picspam for SR at Cap it! Before I Die of Waitin'!.
Availability:
The movie is widely available from retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.
In Conclusion:
I think the film is one of Callum's best (of the ones I've seen). Suspicious River may not be a film for everyone, as it deals with a very difficult subject matter. On the other hand, I think that it has been accused, unfairly, of being misogynistic. This isn't a misogynistic film; it's a film about misogynistic people, and that's an important distinction to make. I was fascinated by it because I am always curious to see how a female director will handle the onscreen abuse of a woman, and Stopkewich made some very interesting directorial decisions, choosing to show us representations of Leila's suffering without actually showing us Leila all bruised and battered. Nevertheless, she is abused and raped onscreen, so if this is something that you cannot bear to watch, it would be best to pass on this. Does the film have weaknesses? Yes, mostly in Gary's dialogue, but the overall quality here is really, really good, from cinematography, to acting and direction. It was compared by several of the reviewers to the famous Belle De Jour, since both deal with married women who explore prostitution as a means of fulfilling masochistic tendencies within themselves, and not out of financial necessity. Though Belle de Jour is the superior of the two films, in terms of technique and writing, I find that Suspicious River has better acting, as well as a much more sympathetic heroine.
Onto Callum: I made reference above to the fact that he's amazing in this, and the reason is that he manages to play so many emotions in Leila (and the audience) at the same time. As written, Gary is just disgusting, but Callum makes him genuinely charming and seductive, and this is crucial for our understanding of why Leila would fall for him. Even so, he's not just charming; he's also sinister, sometimes all at once. It's a great performance, and I would recommend this to all Callum fans.