Mouthpiece (film)
Mouthpiece is a 2018 Canadian drama film directed by Patricia Rozema.[2] Based on the theatrical play by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava,[3] the film centres on Cassandra, a woman who is making the arrangements for her mother's funeral. Cassandra is played by both Nostbakken and Sadava, as a dramatization of her inner conflict.[2]
Mouthpiece | |
---|---|
Directed by | Patricia Rozema |
Produced by | Christina Piovesan Jennifer Shin |
Written by | Patricia Rozema Amy Nostbakken Norah Sadava |
Starring | Amy Nostbakken Norah Sadava |
Music by | Amy Nostbakken |
Cinematography | Catherine Lutes |
Edited by | Lara Johnston |
Production company | First Generation Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 91 minutes[1] |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
The film's cast also includes Ari Cohen, Ishan Davé, David Kohlsmith, Paloma Nuñez, and Maev Beaty.
It premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]
Plot
A young writer, Cassandra, struggles to write a eulogy for her late mother, Elaine, who gave up her career to raise her children.
Cast
- Amy Nostbakken as Cassandra
- Norah Sadava as Cassandra
- Maev Beaty as Elaine[5]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, and an average rating of 7.8/10.[6]
Glenn Sumi of Now gave the film a 4/5 rating, writing, "[Patricia] Rozema's version of Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava's award-winning stage play does more than just open the work up; it fills in key bits of information, shows us Cassandra out and about in Toronto and gives everything an affecting emotional resonance."[7] Scott Tobias of Variety called it "a thoughtful interrogation of modern womanhood, leavened by gallows humor."[8] Pamela Hutchinson of Sight & Sound wrote: "While the script's cleverness and wordplay betray its stage origins, it's bracingly sharp, and explicitly a feminist text."[9]
In December 2018, the Toronto International Film Festival named the film to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list.[10]
References
- Sumi, Glenn (August 29, 2018). "TIFF preview: giving women's stories a Mouthpiece". Now. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- "Patricia Rozema goes back to producing roots with Mouthpiece". Playback, February 5, 2018.
- "Jodie Foster Liked This Canadian Play So Much She Brought It to L.A.". LA Weekly, June 9, 2017.
- "Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, and Hugh Jackman lead TIFF’s 2018 lineup". The Globe and Mail, July 24, 2018.
- Houpt, Simon (September 6, 2018). "TIFF 2018: Patricia Rozema's Mouthpiece is her most directly political film yet". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- "Mouthpiece (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- Sumi, Glenn (September 6, 2018). "TIFF review: Mouthpiece". Now. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- Tobias, Scott (September 6, 2018). "Toronto Film Review: 'Mouthpiece'". Variety. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- Hutchinson, Pamela (September 11, 2018). "Toronto first look: Mouthpiece puzzles the pieces of a mother's legacy". Sight & Sound. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list skews a lot younger this year". Now, December 5, 2018.