With affairs, love triangles and broken hearts abound, Who Loves the Sun is a beautifully acted film about all the messy problems that accompany matters of the heart.
WHO LOVES THE SUN (2006)
Starring Adam Scott, Molly Parker and Lukas Haas
Written and Directed by Matt Bissonnette
Distributed by Christal Films
94 Minutes
While the action all takes place at a summer cottage over the course of one weekend, there is nothing simple about the story of Who Loves the Sun. All the characters in this film are in a giant mess of neuroses, regrets and secrets. And while that may sound like a giant downer, writer /director Matt Bissonnette presents his story with such grace and raw honesty that this film is a must see for anyone who knows what it’s like to deal with heartache.
Mysteriously having dropped off the face of the planet for five years, Arthur (R.H Thompson) and Mary (Wendy Crewson) are shocked when late one evening their son Daniel’s (Adam Scott) estranged best friend Will (Lukas Haas) shows up on their doorstep. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks, Will was once an unofficial member of the Bloom family. All that Arthur and Mary know is that one day there was some big blow out between Will and Daniel, and they never spoke again.
The Blooms decide to instigate a reunion between the old best friends, only to shortly after discover that the “something” that tore the men apart was an affair between Daniel and Will’s then-wife Maggie (Molly Parker). Hearing that Will is back in town Maggie shows up at the cottage as well, and the three are quickly thrown back into their love-triangle dynamic that ruined them all those years before.
The acting in this film is superb-but without a doubt my favourite actor is the delectable Molly Parker. She always brings such honesty and intensity to her roles (if you haven’t seen the brilliant HBO show Deadwood just check it out for confirmation) and she gives Maggie exactly the right combination of fragility and empowerment. Maggie admits she’s a flawed person who made mistakes, but refuses to apologize for her feelings.
I’m not going to spoil the ending for you, so you’ll just have to watch the movie to see which way the triangle plays out. This being a Canadian film and not a Hollywood production, I can tell you that it is a realistic film-not tied up in a neat little bow with every character satisfied. Life unfortunately, just isn’t like that.
