Suzanne

SUZANNE might look like a cheap direct-to-vhs movie from its time. After all it has only two reviews written a lot of time ago and only 84 ratings after a year that I saw it meaning that nobody has ever seen it after me. Well, this doesn't really mean it's a bad movie but still not a masterpiece, and not all movies should be that.

Suzanne MacDonald (Jennifer Dale) is a young woman unsatisfied of her marriage with Andrew (Ken Pogue) and she takes the habit of going out at night in the city when her husband sleeps. One night she is noticed by Georges Laflamme, a gangster just released from prison and they fall in love. Time passes and summer comes and they spend also some days on the beach. One night however, Laflamme forces himself on Suzanne (I would use the right terms but IMDB wouldn't allow it) and she gets impregnated. After abortion she tries to escape from Laflamme and he'll end up in prison.

The acting by all was ok, and the music was great (especially in the dance scenes). But what prevented me to give it a higher score was that I disliked Suzanne's poor decisions since she ended up impregnated by a gangster but at least the ending saved the film and her. But taking it as it is, it's still great for seeing the lifestyles and hear various songs from more than 40 years ago (more referred to those that lived in those years than those who didn't like me that I turned 26 some days ago).

I don't know what to really make of this movie. You might expect it to be more explicit, whatever, but what you have is actually a story, and good acting. The film is not bad, may'be a little disjointed in bits. Jennifer Dale is HOT, and we see why men fall for her, and she does quite a good acting job, but it's bad boy performance, from our Winston, as the handsome crim, Nicky, with violent tendencies, that grabs our attention. He's a sort of David Essex, if not for the lighter color hair. I hadn't seen this film in about 17 years, and it came off a better film than I remembered it, but of course, it isn't without flaws. Suzanne is basically the story of a girl becoming a woman and independent, where we see her go through the wars of life, then motherhood. She loses her mother to car accident, where the woman, too a beauty in her day, is knocked down, as ill fate would have it. Her father is pestering Suzanne to get married. She has set her eyes, on our crim, Nicky (Winston) really smitten by him, where an on and off relationship, develops, as Nicky, who can't get himself straight isn't a one woman man, and times, his treatment towards Suzanne is cruel, and sometimes quizzical. But this bad boy crim, does have a heart, and after all, is human, you really gotta understand him, and want to. One scene, especially where I could see this, was when he takes Suzanne to meet his alcoholic mother, where he's so embarrassed. You can't help feeling sorry for the guy, who's just been steered wrong. Suzanne's other love interest, but more like a rock to fall on, is the gentle and a little, timid George, who she's known her whole life, the only real guy who's respected her, so it becomes a decision maker for Suzanne. Banished from her father, as she's fallen pregnant, she's now over her head, as our wanted bad boy ends up in the clink. Shame, as they make a cute, contrasting couple. The ending was very believable, and I very appreciative of it. Suzanne might come off better than you think, if you give this film a chance. A lot of it, we owe thanks to the three good performances, where we even have a younger Michael Ironside, as Nicky's best friend. Too, don't get Jennifer Dale confused with Heavenly Bodies's Cynthia Dale. Yes, both beauties must be sisters, right.

Suzanne is a perfect example of the state of Canadian film-making in the 1970 and 80's. The plot device of Suzanne growing up in the culture that was Montreal of the 1950's will not really resonate with viewers from other countries. Even so, the film might be able to overcome that except for one big problem. The acting is not good. It sinks to a soup opera level as the usual soup opera plot devices happen to the lead character. The dialog is equally uninspired, and the actors look and sound uncomfortable delivering such clichéd lines. I cannot recommend this movie on any level. Unless you are a HUGE Jennifer Dale fan (and even then you might have trouble enjoying this movie) this is one to miss.