bpb99

Absolute gem of a show that I think is just waiting to pop off in the Canadian market (and hopefully further too). I can see it being another 'cult classic' like Kim's Convenience or Schitt's Creek for sure!

I absolutely loved the show, I though the script was good and engaging. It had some really great comedy. The cast and characters are super interesting and all great. Most importantly of all it exposes the world to a part of the Canada they know nothing about or rarely see.

I really love the idea of showcasing first nations communities because they truly deserve the spotlight. I think it could also have a real positive impact on helping some of the more ignorant to understand the deep, complex and generational issues that these communities have faced. I thought they did an excellent job of including topics such as residential schooling and even infusing some comedy around the topic.

I really hope this show continues and I think it could have a real impact in drawing people to visit the north!

I know it's not meant as a realistic tourism advertisement, but I think the show has that effect of making Northern Canada seem more appealable to me and a place worth visiting. I think after watching the show most people would feel similarly.

"For too long, people have been coming to the Arctic to try to change us - But I am asking you to let this place change you."

It seems like this film started out with a very solid heartfelt and emotional script. Given the correct casting choices and some semblance of directing - it probably would have easily been an 8.

What they did instead was seemed to go for a B-grade mentality with the rest of the film. What does that mean?

Well the biggest annoyance and most distracting part of the movie - Brian Cox. Sorry sir, you may be a great actor but the accent was extraordinarily noticeable and distracting. Any time the character says a full sentence you can clearly make out what sounds like a British accent (he is actually Scottish). So clearly he hasn't really nailed the American accent very well. I can totally understand the decision to cast a Scot if he could do a believable American accent, but he REALLY could not.

EDIT: Upon further research the decision to do a British accent was actually INTENTIONAL... I am sorry but if that's even more B-grade than before. Like who though that was okay? Do I really need to explain why this makes no sense? A British veteran receiving prolonged (or life long) care in the AMERICAN VA? Based on the long and drawn out nature of the show I can't even recall where he was suppose to have fought.. Realistically the actor is about Vietnam veteran age (about a decade too young to be Korean War) which means no, the VA would not serve him.

The main character and his love interest have the same sort of issue - they feel like incomplete and at times totally random characters. There really didn't feel like enough effort was put into building the characters and they just come across as very fake. They are the sort of characters that could do anything next because all that has come before was unpredictable and random too. I also felt they relied heavily on their looks, often a scene made up by a cute smirk, rather than a good line.

I felt as though alcohol(ism) was used as a crutch throughout the movie without really delving into the deeper issues of it.. It felt sort of cheap and misappropriated. Don't get me wrong, clearly it has a very real place in a script/topic like this. However to use it to just indicate an increased stress level - felt cheap. It wasn't nuanced or invested enough to feel like a part of the story. It was just sprinkled in there as flare, which felt almost offensive to people who have actual issues with it. Unfortunately it's not as simple as an old man saying 'lay off' or a beautiful girl entering your life.

You could probably say the same about the central focus that is fly fishing. It felt like they intentionally used this to simply make the film appeal to fly fishermen. Totally understandable, it's not a hobby championed in many films I can think about. To me it felt very superficial though, maybe real fly fishers found it relatable. I kind of find that hard to believe.