I found this to be a solidly enjoyable, if not great film, and I'm surprised at the very negative reviews and also the relative obscurity of this movie. Michael, a college student, travels to Quebec City to spend the Christmas season with his maybe yes, maybe no girlfriend Gabby. There he stays with her quirky, wealthy family. Well, maybe quirky isn't the right word so much as semi-incestuous.
Michael does make both an emotional connection and a sexual connection during his visit, but neither with Gabby. The emotional connection comes with the grandmother and the sexual connection comes with Gabby's older sister. I found Michael to be a likeable, relatable character and I enjoyed seeing his journey over the course of the movie and shared in his frustrations.
The film is gorgeously set in a snow-covered Quebec City during outdoor scenes and the home that the family lives in is decorated like a medieval church. Kudos to them for choosing such memorable and unique visual images.
Where my rating goes down is with the ultimate message and meaning of the film. I came away not quite sure what the film was trying to say. There is a scene towards the end between the father of the family and Michael where they are basically shrugging their shoulders and saying "hey...women...just can't figure them out, am I right?" which I found to be disappointing. The three sisters are clearly meant to be associated with the Three Graces of classic myth, but again, I'm not sure why or what they were trying to say. Perhaps the three sisters (and perhaps the mother and grandmother) were all so intermingled and connected that it was impossible to love just one of them? That's the best I've got.
I do recommend that people track this one down as I did ultimately enjoy watching it. And I do mean track it down because it's not easy to find. I only found out the film existed because I'm doing a deep dive into Jennifer Connelly's filmography, and yes, she is quite lovely in this one.
Michael does make both an emotional connection and a sexual connection during his visit, but neither with Gabby. The emotional connection comes with the grandmother and the sexual connection comes with Gabby's older sister. I found Michael to be a likeable, relatable character and I enjoyed seeing his journey over the course of the movie and shared in his frustrations.
The film is gorgeously set in a snow-covered Quebec City during outdoor scenes and the home that the family lives in is decorated like a medieval church. Kudos to them for choosing such memorable and unique visual images.
Where my rating goes down is with the ultimate message and meaning of the film. I came away not quite sure what the film was trying to say. There is a scene towards the end between the father of the family and Michael where they are basically shrugging their shoulders and saying "hey...women...just can't figure them out, am I right?" which I found to be disappointing. The three sisters are clearly meant to be associated with the Three Graces of classic myth, but again, I'm not sure why or what they were trying to say. Perhaps the three sisters (and perhaps the mother and grandmother) were all so intermingled and connected that it was impossible to love just one of them? That's the best I've got.
I do recommend that people track this one down as I did ultimately enjoy watching it. And I do mean track it down because it's not easy to find. I only found out the film existed because I'm doing a deep dive into Jennifer Connelly's filmography, and yes, she is quite lovely in this one.