A Small Fortune

This film is awful on so many levels, but most of all it just doesn't make sense. Like so many modern bad films it relies on advancing the plot by having characters do the stupidest, most brainless things possible. The lead actor might as well be playing someone mentally challenged. Actions take place in this film that are completely unrealistic. At times it seems as if the film makers want to take it in the direction of a dark comedy, but it is never funny. It's starts off kind of slow and boring and then dives right into absurdity. This was so bad , it was painful to watch, especially since they seemed to be going for something heart-warming in the end, but these characters were so bland and so fake , the kind that only exist in bad movies, that you won't care. I didn't care, I just wanted it to end already.

Kevin Doucette (Stephen Oates) and Sam Doucette (Liane Balaban) are a married couple struggling to survive in PEI. Sam is pregnant. Kevin harvests seaweed in a traditional way. It would be kind to say that it's a dying industry. The money is not worth the effort. Sam keeps urging him to move west to make some cash, but he refuses to leave home. Out of the blue, he finds money scattered in his seaweed and then a duffle bag full of cash.

This is a small Canadian indie in the mold of other small crime dramas where the down and out characters find a bag of cash. It is interesting that Kevin is still harvesting seaweed with a horse. Burning the boat is a really dumb idea. Kevin is not the sharpest tool in the tool box. He's not like a cartoon idiot either. There are so many foreseeable problems that he runs into head-first. That's not a problem. Dumb lead characters are often frustrating, but still interesting. I just wouldn't want dumb writing. My main issue with the story is that Kevin should be dead. At a certain point, he should be killed or at the very least, tortured to an inch of his life. I get that it's hard to kill the lead before the end of the movie. Maybe that's the better move.

Relatively formulaic crime caper. The best thing the movie has going for it is the setting; PEI certainly lends itself to some beautiful cinematography. The story has some interesting elements but overall it doesn't rise above a made-for-TV cheap production feel.

The dialogue is a bit ham-fisted at times and you've got some overly stereotypical characters: the disgruntled old cop, the bad guy with tattoos, etc.

"Deus ex machina" I think is the term for the introduction of a major new character toward the end of the movie. Well, it happens here and is a tad annoying. There are various "convenient coincidences" that happen such as a character finding an important bag at a rock that he just happened to randomly crouch down near. Some suspension of disbelief is OK but a few too many of them here.

The "wrap things up nicely" monologue at the end was a bit too pat while leaving various things unexplained.

Earning his money raking kelp from the shores a man finds money, much money. Despite bestest intention he does what - let's be honest - everybody does two weeks after finding a treasure.

The movie provides us an unbelieving look into modern small town life without being dramatising, showing you the unworldly in the middle of the world who hold up labour and value heritage, with some effords at times, but eventually sucessful. A neat afternoon movie.

Pour gagner sa vie en ramassant du varech sur les côtes, un homme trouve de l'argent, beaucoup d'argent. Malgré ses meilleures intentions, il fait ce que - soyons honnêtes - tout le monde fait deux semaines après avoir trouvé un trésor.

Le film nous offre un regard incrédule sur la vie moderne des petites villes, sans dramatiser, en nous montrant les gens du peuple au milieu du monde qui défendent le travail et la valeur du patrimoine, avec quelques efforts parfois, mais qui finissent par réussir. Un bon film d'après-midi.

Acting is a bit so-so (especially Andrea Bang who is utterly terrible and tends to ruin every scene where she opens her mouth and 'acts').

The plot is pretty predictable.

Cinematography was ok.

I'd say maybe watch it while you fold your laundry as there is nothing here to keep your attention.

3/10.