White Room

I first saw this film on CBC television several years ago while flicking through the channels late at night. Some films work better at night when you can't get to sleep. All of sudden they suck you in and keep you awake so that you're thankful you were losing your mind with insomnia in the first place. Other great late night discoveries: "Down by Law" and "Red Sorghum." Check 'em out. Anyhow...

"White Room" is a magical film, a magic which begins with the opening narration which imbues the story with a certain fairytale quality, and a feeling that there's a moral to the story, a purpose; just hang in there and watch it unfold. The whole story is pure fantasy, and perhaps that's what makes the film's imperfections tolerable. Imperfections such as: Sheila McCarthy--the wrong actress for the role; Maurice Godin--when he says, "I love you," it just doesn't work; and what the hell's the deal with that pirate outfit he's wearing during half the movie?

Watching the film unfold, though--that's where the magic lies. With the well-placed voice-over narration, I think there could have been even less dialogue. There are essentially only two characters in the film, but the fairytale quality of the film (thanks to the narration) might be considered the third character, because it's that dreamlike feeling that keeps the story alive, makes it feel more personal and potent, just like a dream, even though you know it isn't real.

That's what I loved about the film. I was living in it while I was watching it. And the place it brought me to was unlike anything I've experienced in a film before. Definitely a unique film.

I watched it several times on video for a few years after I first saw it, and it was a rewarding experience every time. Recently, though, I watched it again, and its imperfections began to stand out a little more, and it wasn't as magical--but it's still a special movie, singular, unique, different from most films out there, and well worth looking out for. Especially if you have an appreciation for late night magic.

The troubled Norm (Maurice Godin) lives with his parents and during the night he peeps women in their houses. When he witnesses the murder of the rock star Madelaine X (Margot Kidder), he feels partially guilty since he only called the police and did not help her. Norm decides to leave home and tells his parents that he is going to write a book. While looking for a job, he meets Zelda (Sheila McCarthy) and she offers a work in her news stand to him. When Norm meets Jane (Kate Nelligan), he follows her and offers to work as gardener in her house in the country and they fall in love for each other. When Norm discloses the secret that Jane actually dubbed Madelaine X, he writes the draft of a book with the true story and tragic consequences.

"White Room" is an unknown gem, one of those weird refreshing movies that are worthwhile watching and slightly recalls the masterpiece "Blue Velvet". The bitter love story has an atmosphere of a dream in some moments, and the conclusion seems to be a fairytale. The annoying character of Zelda is necessary for the conclusion of the story, but she irritated me most of the time. In the end, life is beautiful in the world of fantasy. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Segredo do Quarto Branco" ("The Secret of the White Room")

Again i saw this film in the early 90's on the UK television, and the stark and surprising storyline keep coming back to mind.

The emotional involvement of the film is total, no other film has ever had that impact. I've watched all of Rozema's films and none have this level of emotional crudity and success.

It's difficult to compare this film with any other; however the film 'high Art' comes close to the level of detached intensity this film induces.

A fantastic cast, Nelligan is beautiful and the directing is suitably claustrophobic.

In short, this film is an alternative existential masterpiece; recommended viewing for angst ridden generation x'ergs.

I first became acquainted with Patricia Rozema's work in 1987 when I saw I Heard the Mermaids Singing, which was part of the renaissance in Canadian cinema alongside the work of Denys Arcand ( The Decline of the American Empire; Jesus of Montreal). Working on a bigger budget for her next film, White Room, allowed the director to offer more to her story and her sense of cinematic space. What Mermaids lacked in budget could be compensated in White Room's suitably stark set-pieces. This is the primary success of White Room - the director's ability to create a dreamlike mood through camera-work and music. The film borrows freely from film noir but modernizes this genre in its clinical detachment from the film's central enigma - who is dead? who sang? Moreover, its appropriation of Hitchcock's voyeuristic gaze adds an enigmatic twist to this haunting tale. The cast is very good, with Kate Nelligan and Margot Kidder in what seems like interchangeable roles. I think this was a step forward for the director but many critics missed the point and felt it too pretentious and self-indulgent. However, its preoccupation with the human voice and the ways it can be appropriated by others predated many miming scandals in the early 1990s. All in all, a quirky, postmodern dream-noir for cultural theorists. Mallrats need not apply.

A refreshingly wonderful film with real depth and beauty, in these days when most films are all-out action and violence this hidden little beauty is a breath of fresh air. Dig this one out at the earliest opportunity and watch it in a quiet room with the lights dimmed and a glass of wine in hand and let it whisk you away on a journey of childlike innocence.