The Cinematheque

In Person: Anne Wheeler

Anne Wheeler’s powerful 1986 drama (her first fiction feature) is a highlight of a distinguished filmmaking career devoted to bringing authentic, socially conscious Canadian stories—and particularly women’s stories—to the screen. Framed as a psychological thriller, the film relates the growing friendship between two very different women in a small Alberta town. Lilly (Susan Wooldridge), a prim, upper-crust Englishwoman, is the lonely wife of the town’s new doctor (Kenneth Walsh). Rosanne (Tantoo Cardinal) is a local Métis single mother and barmaid. The eruption of male violence in both the ​“Native” and ​“white” communities causes each woman to question her personal loyalties and forges a bond between them. Wheeler’s film, scripted by Sharon Riis, impresses with its potent sense of place and intelligent treatment of class, race, and gender. Print courtesy TIFF’s Film Reference Library.