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Colm Feore

My Salinger Year: Listening to Words that Change Lives

March 5, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

A lot can happen in a year, especially when you’re young.

Directed by Philippe Falardeau, My Salinger Year is the coming-of-age tale of Joanna Rakoff (Margaret Qualley), a young woman who decides to skip graduate school in order to follow her dreams of becoming a writer. In order to make ends meet, she takes a job as an assistant to Margaret (Sigourney Weaver), a prominent New York City agent who clings to the way things used to be, whether it’s typewriters or three-martini lunches. Of all her clients, her most high profile is reclusive author J.D. Salinger and Joanna is tasked with processing his continuous stream of fan mail. Working long hours and living in a sink-less apartment with her socialist boyfriend (Douglas Booth), Joanna finds herself torn between her calling as a writer and living someone else’s dream for her career.

Known for such stories such as Monsieur Lazhar and The Good Lie, Falardeau understands how to create an arc for his characters. Adapted from the memoirs of the real Joanna Rakoff, Falardeau manages to seamlessly blend Rakoff’s journey with his own dramatic additions in ways that feels genuine to the time and his characters. This is not a story with any particularly flashy events like car crashes or dire secrets to be revealed to drive the narrative. Instead, Salinger feels more akin to viewing a slice of a young woman’s life. This sense of authenticity is also in part due to some wonderful work by Qualley, who feels present in the role of Joanna. Her charm and humility bring out the humanity in the impetuous and ambitious young woman as she attempts to make her dreams come true. 

Though he never fully appears onscreen, Salinger looms largely throughout the film. Keeping his face hidden, Falardeau puts greater emphasis on the words of someone who has left an indelible mark on American literature than on the man himself. It’s interesting to note that, by shrouding his appearance in mystery, Falardeau keeps his audience from becoming too preoccupied with the Salinger’s personality or identity. There’s no climactic dinner with Salinger or long-winded monologues. Rather, Falardeau simply allows his legacy to hang like a shadow over the characters and their motivations. As a result, Salinger (or ‘Jerry’) becomes more than an icon or personal hero within the film.

He becomes an idea.

Without properly personifying his character, Falardeau lets Salinger’s voice take centre stage in a way that highlights the power of his words. As Joanna reads letter after letter from fans who identify with his work, the viewer sees the impact that his writing has had for generations of people who are looking to feel valued and heard. Their insistence that Salinger receive their letters stems not only out of mere fandom but from a need to feel validated from someone that they believe understands them. 

Even Joanna, who has never read Salinger’s work, dreams of being ‘like him’. Not ‘be like him’ in the traditional sense, mind you. (After all, she has barely spoken with the man.) To her, the iconic writer represents someone who has powerfully contributed to popular culture in a way that helped others and changed lives. With Salinger’s example in view, she believes that she can be extraordinary.

To her, he represents a calling. 

In this way, Falardeau’s creative use of ‘the man’ helps magnify the myth of Salinger. For his readers and fans, the value of Salinger’s voice takes on a life of its own and creates space for them to understand and translate their own experiences. His writing cuts through the souls of his readers in ways that other authors seem unable to do. In My Salinger Year, Falardeau understands the importance and power that his words carry but thankfully doesn’t end the film there. While it could be argued that Salinger himself is almost deified throughout the film, the best part of Falardeau’s work is that it also encourages others to do the same for the next generation.

To hear our conversation with director Philippe Falardeau, click here.

My Salinger Year is in select theatres and on VOD on Friday, March 5th, 2021.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Colm Feore, Douglas Booth, Joanna Rakoff, Margaret Qualley, My Salinger Year, Philippe Falardeau, Sigourney Weaver

Astronaut: Late to the Launch

July 26, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Astronaut tells the story of Angus (Richard Dreyfuss), a lonely widower who feels like his life seems over when he moves into a retirement home. Feeling worthless and alone, Angus’s enthusiasm is reignited when a competition is announced for a seat on the first commercial flight to space. Despite the fact that he’s well beyond the contest’s age range, Angus enters the competition and must battle against prejudice, his own failing health and time to win the ticket and take the trip of his dreams.

Written and directed by Shelagh McLeod, Astronaut is one of the more touching and endearing films of the year. Based on an interaction she had with an elderly man in a nursing home several years ago, the film is a true celebration of life and speaks to the value of everyone, regardless of age. Though a cast with the talents of Colm Feore and Graham Greene is already stellar, it’s Richard Dreyfuss who shines brightest, bringing humanity and vibrancy to a man who wants to bring his dream to life despite his own expiring clock. Though he’s chosen to work less in recent years, Dreyfuss’ performance as Angus continues to serve as a reminder of his ability to instill a mixture of joy and empathy into his characters. 

Time features heavily in McLeod’s film, as Angus fights for his dreams against a body that has begun to fail him. Clasping his pocket watch with glee, Angus is a character who appears to believe that he has time in the palm of his hands. Despite the fact that he struggles to walk great distances and his heart is weak, he truly believes that time is on his side. His youthful spirit yearns for one more adventure and he knows he has more to offer the world.

However, as the world around him seems to have passed him by, Angus feels silenced. Unheard by his daughter, the space program representatives and the well-meaning (but at times oblivious) nursing home staff, Angus becomes viewed as the ‘crazy old man’. He is loved… but he is not listened to. As such, the film also becomes a love letter to the elderly by emphasizing the life and wisdom they still have to offer. Throughout Angus’ journey, the other residents of the nursing facility find a new vitality and voice. Although quietly unheard by others, Angus becomes an example to his elderly friends—not to mention his own family—that they still have time to live lives that matter. 

Though Astronaut will likely not be a film that you hear much about in the latest box office reports about superheroes and CGI animated fare, it is well worth looking for in your local cineplex. McLeod’s charming script and endearing cast help elevate Astronaut from the screen into the stars of our hearts.

For audio of our interview with writer/director Shelagh McLeod, click here.

Astronaut begins its journey in theatres and VOD on July 26th, 2019

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Reviews Tagged With: Astronaut, Colm Feore, FantastiaFest, Graham Greene, Richard dreyfuss, Shelagh McLeod

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