1999
Directed by Allan Moyle
Not a lot of people seem to know this quirky independent Canadian film set in New Waterford, Cape Breton. It's a shame, because it's a pretty good coming-of-age comedy, and all the better for its setting. It's actually written by one-time New Waterford resident, Tricia Fish, who adds a lot of authenticity to the dialogues, making this a rare East Coast that those of us from away might actually get a chance to see.
New Waterford Girl stars Liane Balaban (One Week) as fifteen-year-old Mooney Pottie. Mooney spends most of her time reading, memorizing maps of various large cities, and daydreaming of leaving the sleepy seaside town of New Waterford. New Waterford itself seems to be something of a ridiculous charicature of rural east coast life, where people are told to "go and eat your halibut," bullies cower before the Virgin Mary, and pregnancy out of wedlock is tantamount to mortal sin... but with Fish writing, who knows how close to reality this really is! With the arrival of Lou, a young girl from New York City (played by Tara Spencer-Nairn, who Canadians will recognize as Karen from "Corner Gas"), Mooney finds a new friend and confidante. Spurred on by the outgoing Lou, Mooney comes up with an, um, original plan to get herself out of New Waterford and into an art school in New York.
For me, this movie is really enjoyable because of the little things in it: all the local details, the austere and beautiful landscapes of Cape Breton, the many smaller roles, many filled by east coast actors, and the mostly subtle humour interlaced into even the sourest of scenes. Nicholas Campbell always cracks me up as Mooney's grumpy bastard of a father. Andrew McCarthy is pretty good as Mooney's soul-searching teacher.... / love interest?? Hey, teachers, leave them kids alone! Well, in this particular case I can see his point. There's also some awesome jabs at Ontarians and Toronto in particular that I find hilarious; Canada, your name is regionalism! I also think it's funny how Mooney's rebellions all still tend to fit in with her Catholic upbringing. I like that element, it keeps this story more down-to-earth than it could have been otherwise.
The problem is, not everything works well in this movie. There is a running thing about how if you punch somebody and knock them out, that means they're guilty (of, uh, something). Lou seems to have this power, and people like to interpret it as being given by the Virgin Mary to smite evildoers. For a bunch of xenophobes, it seems a rather big stretch to think that the townspeople would use it as a benchmark for proving guilt or innocence in a given situation. I don't know, I just thought it was stupid, personally.
If not underrated, New Waterford Girl is definitely an under-viewed gem - perhaps a little tarnished around the edges. Definitely worth a look for anybody, bonus if you're Canadian to boot.
7.1
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