The Bay Boy

Lovely, lovely small-scale film with excellent performances by a talented cast. Liv Ullman, Kiefer Sutherland, Alan Scarfe and everyone else certainly did not make this for the money. Among other delights, it has one of the most authentic losing-of-virginity scenes in any film. And the voice-over of its conclusion imparts the entire story with the resonance of personal myth.

That this film is such an oddity, was so poorly distributed, and is so ignored right now is an indictment of the entire industry and the kind of films it makes -- and doesn't make. To know how to do this and still not do it -- shame on them.

It's 1937 Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. It's a mining town at the edge of nowhere. Donald Campbell (Kiefer Sutherland)'s father (Peter Donat) had lost his soft drink factory during the Depression. His mother (Liv Ullmann) is keeping the family afloat. His brother Joe is mentally handicap. He's a Roman Catholic altar boy infatuated with Saxon Coldwell (Leah Pinsent). Joe dies. Donald witnesses Saxon's angry dad Sergeant Tom Coldwell (Alan Scarfe) kill his landlord, an elderly Jewish couple. He goes to find Chief McInnes but doesn't tell him about Coldwell. He kisses Saxon's sister Dianna while still in love with Saxon. He is haunted by the murders and in fear of Tom Coldwell. The visiting priest tries to molest him while away and spending the night in the same bed together. He becomes disillusioned with the church.

It's one of Kiefer Sutherland's early roles. He does a fine job. Writer/director Daniel Petrie has filled it with his personal experiences in this semi-autobiographical film. In fact, it's overloaded with them. There are way too many things. It should simply concentrate on the murders and the Coldwells. If it wants to do the priest route, it should limit it to that part and make this a sexual coming-of-age story. Putting them together is too much and doesn't allow each story to develop.

I remember when I was little & they were filming the Bay Boy in Glace Bay & it was very cool to have a movie shoot on the street where our church was. At the time though I was all - Keifer Who? The movie really is fantastic and funny and thrilling but at the time the thrill was that it was shot in our home town. They even had the premiere at the Savoy Theater in Glace Bay which for Glace Bay was a pretty big deal. Though not entirely surprising. The Writer / Director Daniel Petrie was born in Glace Bay.

The CBC had aired this movie many times over the years. So it is quite possible it will air again. Luckily I still have a copy on tape. I've seen copies in the video store (not on DVD mind you - although it very well may be on DVD by now - I am not sure).

A must see. Amazon.ca has the VHS listed.

My Grandfather, John Wilson Sr, had a few guest appearances in this movie, i discovered this when he sadly passed away in 2018, i miss you so much. im definitely going to watch this movie again

"The Bay Boy" was clearly a labor of love for writer/director Daniel Petrie. In all his long, successful directorial career ("A Raisin in the Sun", "Fort Apache the Bronx", "Resurrection"), this is his sole writing credit. The film takes place exactly where Petrie himself grew up - Glace Bay, Nova Scotia - on the island of Cape Breton. But, for all the personal identity and local talent involved, it's not nearly as good of a film as some others made on the island like "Margaret's Museum" and "New Waterford Girl". The thing that holds back the story here is Petrie's filmmaking approach. The soundtrack constantly intrudes with out-of-place music, and the acting is too often directed toward an older style approach. It's well-made, yes, just not nearly as convincing as it might have been.

For such a totally obscure film, there are a couple of recognizable faces. Liv Ullmann and Kiefer Sutherland (in his second role) are the core of the story here, an exploration of the complexities of the mother/son relationship. Another Nova Scotian actor, Peter Donat, has a less noticeable role as the father. In the end, "The Bay Boy" would have been much better served by a more realist, quiet approach. Daniel Petrie seems intent on filming his story as if it were a 1930s movie, which tends to keep everything at a distance. There's a lot of feeling put into it, a lot of talent. But it just doesn't come out quite right. I got something from it, just not nearly enough.