CWC D: Alison Maclean. New Zealand. 102 min. Sep 9, 7 pm, Scotiabank 3 Sep 10, 9:15 am, TIFF Bell Lightbox 3. Rating: NNN
Fresh-faced, naive country boy Stanley (James Rolleston) has come to Auckland to go to the city’s prestigious drama school. Head principal (Kerry Fox) engages in what borders on sadistic teaching techniques – the film asks what price creativity – and soon Stanley and his classmates have planned a year-end project focussing on a family scandal involving the sister of his girlfriend (Alice Englert), raising another moral issue about creative inspiration.
As is often the case with film adaptations, it’s best to forget about the book. This version mines only one element of Eleanor Catton’s debut novel and tries to deal with another – a sudden death – way too cursorily.
But Fox is amazing – steely and charismatic – and the young cast members have great chemistry.
