Movies of the Week
Who Loves the Sun, Young Triffie
See it or skip it? This week's new movie releases By Paul Matthews
Who Loves the Sun
Why this film didn’t get into last fall’s Toronto International Film Festival is beyond me. Who Loves the Sun marks a huge leap forward for director Matt Bisonnette, whose first feature, 2002’s Looking for Leonard, left many viewers cold. Growing up, Will Morrison (Lukas Haas) and Daniel Bloom (Adam Scott) were best friends who bonded over summers at Daniel’s parents’ island cottage. Five summers ago, however, while Daniel and his wife, Maggie (Molly Parker), were visiting, Will ran off and disappeared. When he suddenly returns to the cottage, looking scruffy and forlorn, the Blooms (R.H. Thomson and Wendy Crewson) are a little beside themselves. Next thing you know, Daniel and Maggie are there, too: the former now a pompous literary hotshot in New York, the latter teeming with questions. If the plot sounds a tad contrived, it is; but as soon as the three characters begin to interact, you’re willing to forgive Bisonnette almost anything. Isolated on the island and surrounded by memories of past summers, Will, Daniel and Maggie have no choice but to duke it out. The emotional fireworks are hilarious and heartbreaking, thanks especially to Scott, who gives what, in a larger film, would be a career-making performance. The Lake of the Woods setting and the score by Portastatic instantly evoke waves of nostalgia for anyone who has ever spent a summer in cottage country. SEE IT NOW
Who Loves the Sun opens Friday at Canada Square (2200 Yonge St.).
