The Stone Angel
Sometimes it takes your whole life to get it right.
Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Laurence, The Stone Angel is the story of feisty firecracker Hagar Shipley (Christine Horne, Ellen Burstyn). Her passionate heart has always ruled her head and her choices have put her at odds with family and friends. With her life nearly behind her, she sets out in search of a way to reconcile herself to her turbulent past. Through her reflections we come to know a passionate and rebellious young bride, her love for her two sons, the freedoms she claimed, and the joys she denied herself.
Member Reviews
All my friends hated it - RobBC
An oscar-calibre performance by Ellen Burstyn highlights an otherwise unremarkable little film about an old woman lost in her memories as she comes face-to-face with her own mortality. This is pretty much a kitchen sink drama with no great insights or profound words of wisdom. So why did I enjoy it so much? Aside from Ms. Burstyn’s dynamic energy I guess I just got lost in the film’s slow rhythms and various small town tragedies.I loved this film. - EcoMom
Fantastic, solid acting. It took me in and I thought about nothing else for the entire movie. It went by so quickly. Strong characters. It's one of those films that will leave you thinking about it years later. Worth seeing. Lots of emphasis on relationships and aging.Just 'cause it's a good book doesn't mean... - Konigsberg
Let's get something out of the way. The performances in this film are pretty solid. You can't say much about them. Christine Horne practically steals the film as Young Hagar, despite the fact that they let her play the character long past her age range. Not her fault though and she did a wonderful job. If they did it properly they would have had a third actress for the middle aged sections. Oh well.
Despite getting second billing in most advertisements I think Ellen Page has... maybe... five minutes of screen time in this. Maybe a few more. Am I a lover of Ellen Page? Yup. Should she have been in this film? Probably not. Again, she does wonders with her film, and I felt more for her character than I did for most of the others (which says something since I mentioned she's barely in it). First off she can't reign in her kind of old soul and the character she played seems far less intelligent than she's capable of showing. I won't go into too further detail in fear of ruining anything to do with the plot.
So my biggest beef with this film is that I never get a chance to care for these characters. We're running around all over the place, and it's great. I totally get a sense of what happened in her life, the tragedies, the lovely bits, but did I get a chance to care? No. Was that intentional? I don't know. Maybe. The only time we get close is when she's with Leo played by "Tell Me You Love Me"'s Luke Kirby. It's the only time I really felt two characters in this film really connected. There's some very small moments between Dylan Baker and Ellen Burstyn, but they're few and far between.
Member Reviews
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All my friends hated it - RobBC
An oscar-calibre performance by Ellen Burstyn highlights an otherwise unremarkable little film about an old woman lost in her memories as she comes face-to-face with her own mortality. This is pretty much a kitchen sink drama with no great insights or profound ...I loved this film. - EcoMom
Fantastic, solid acting. It took me in and I thought about nothing else for the entire movie. It went by so quickly. Strong characters. It's one of those films that will leave you thinking about it years later. Worth seeing. Lots of emphasis on relationships ...Just 'cause it's a good book doesn't mean... - Konigsberg
Let's get something out of the way. The performances in this film are pretty solid. You can't say much about them. Christine Horne practically steals the film as Young Hagar, despite the fact that they let her play the character long past her age range. ...