#REVIEW: “BOUNDARIES”

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Boundaries follows eccentric single mother, Laura (Vera Farmiga), who’s trying to work through the current chaos in her life. That chaos includes her teenage son, Henry (Lewis MacDougall), who has recently been expelled from school due to his graphically inappropriate drawing of a school official, and going to therapy to work through the boundary problems she has with her estranged father, Jack (Christopher Plummer). However, these problems soon take a turn when her pot-dealing father gets kicked out of his old-age home and needs to be driven to California to stay with his other daughter. Resulting in Laura, Henry and Jack to go on a road trip that may change their distanced and often antagonizing relationship.

Writer-Director Shana Feste makes a Film thats full of love, regret and hope. Feste crafts a Script that is full off off-beat and peculiar characters. These characters range three different generations which offers different perspectives on family and life. These unconventional characters are what makes this common road trip tale unique. However, if not for the Cast all their quirks would’ve been lost.

Farmiga is spectacular, as always, as the eccentric Laura who is often at her wits end. Laura is constantly doing things that force audiences to question her, such as taking in any stray she finds or her often off relationship with her son. However, Farmiga is able to nearly normalize these strange traits and make audiences root for her. Plummer plays all facets of Jack effortlessly. He manages to make a drug dealing elderly man believable and loveable. All while providing unsettling qualities and make audiences second guess him. Then there’s MacDougall who is magnificent as the peculiar Henry. MacDougall is fascinating to watch and completely disappears into Henry.

Overall, Boundaries has a great cast and talent actors that portray erratic characters.

Mongrel Media release BOUNDARIES on Friday, July 6, 2018.