The Cinematheque

Free Screening

One of the strongest Canadian debuts in recent memory, Ashley McKenzie’s prize-winning first feature is a sobering, documentary-esque account of two recovering junkies making an onerous go of it in New Waterford, Nova Scotia—the writer-director-editor’s hometown. Blaise and Nessa are a young, outcast couple existing on the margins of their economically-depressed town. Enrolled in an addiction program that has them hooked on methadone, they fill their days hauling a janky lawnmower door-to-door, attempting to cobble cash together to pay for their opioid doses. The film’s intimate close-ups and handheld camerawork bespeak a close study of the Dardenne brothers’ brand of social realism; the striking mise-en-scène, atypical score (by Youth Haunts), and unexpected moments of stylistic deviation, on the other hand, make a compelling case for McKenzie as a director already in command of her own unique aesthetic.