Mouthpiece (film)

Last updated
Mouthpiece
Mouthpiece (2018) Film Poster.jpg
Directed by Patricia Rozema
Written byPatricia Rozema
Amy Nostbakken
Norah Sadava
Produced by Christina Piovesan
Jennifer Shin
StarringAmy Nostbakken
Norah Sadava
Cinematography Catherine Lutes
Edited byLara Johnston
Music byAmy Nostbakken
Production
company
First Generation Films
Release date
  • September 6, 2018 (2018-09-06)(TIFF)
Running time
91 minutes [1]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Mouthpiece is a 2018 Canadian drama film directed by Patricia Rozema, from a screenplay by Rozema, Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, [2] and based on the theatrical play by Nostbakken and Sadava. [3] The film centres on Cassandra, a woman who is making arrangements for her mother's funeral. Cassandra is played by both Nostbakken and Sadava, as a dramatization of her inner conflict. [2]

Contents

It premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. [4]

Plot

A young writer, Cassandra, struggles to write a eulogy for her late mother, Elaine, who gave up her career to raise her children.

Cast

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, and an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Mouthpiece interrogates gender norms with wit and ingenuity, portraying its main character's inner conflict through a pair of separate performances." [6]

Glenn Sumi of Now gave the film a 4/5 rating, writing, "[Patricia] Rozema's version of Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava's award-winning stage play does more than just open the work up; it fills in key bits of information, shows us Cassandra out and about in Toronto and gives everything an affecting emotional resonance." [7] Scott Tobias of Variety called it "a thoughtful interrogation of modern womanhood, leavened by gallows humor." [8] Pamela Hutchinson of Sight & Sound wrote: "While the script's cleverness and wordplay betray its stage origins, it's bracingly sharp, and explicitly a feminist text." [9]

In December 2018, the Toronto International Film Festival named the film to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list. [10]

Related Research Articles

Mouthpiece may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Rozema</span> Canadian film director, writer and producer

Patricia Rozema is a Canadian film director, writer and producer. She was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.

<i>Ive Heard the Mermaids Singing</i> 1987 Canadian film by Patricia Rozema

I've Heard the Mermaids Singing is a 1987 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Patricia Rozema and starring Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, and Ann-Marie MacDonald. It was the first English-language Canadian feature film to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Trust the Man</i> 2005 American film

Trust the Man is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich. The film is set in New York and centers around two couples as they deal with relationship issues such as intimacy and commitment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi Chellas</span> American screenwriter

Semi Chellas is a director, writer, producer who has written for film, television and magazines. She was born in Palo Alto, California and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She is known for her work on the television series Mad Men and her film adaptation of American Woman based on Susan Choi's novel of the same name.

<i>Devils Knot</i> (film) 2013 film

Devil's Knot is a 2013 American biographical crime drama film directed by Atom Egoyan. Adapted from Mara Leveritt's 2002 book of the same name, the film is about the true story of three murdered children, and the three teenagers known as the West Memphis Three who were convicted of killing them, during the Satanic ritual abuse panic. The teenagers were subsequently sentenced to death (Echols) and life imprisonment, before all were released after eighteen years. Produced by Elizabeth Fowler, Richard Saperstein, Clark Peterson, Christopher Woodrow, and Paul Harris Boardman, the film stars Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, Dane DeHaan, Mireille Enos, Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas, Stephen Moyer, Alessandro Nivola, Amy Ryan, and Martin Henderson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 Toronto International Film Festival</span>

The 12th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 1987. I've Heard the Mermaids Singing by Patricia Rozema was selected as the opening film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 Toronto International Film Festival</span>

The 15th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Canada between September 6 and September 15, 1990. Gerald Pratley introduced Cinematheque Ontario now known as TIFF Cinematheque at the festival, when the festival assumed management of the Ontario Film Institute.

<i>Bang Bang Baby</i> 2014 Canadian musical sci-fi film

Bang Bang Baby is a Canadian musical science-fiction film written and directed by Jeffrey St. Jules, which premiered in 2014 at Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Into the Forest</i> 2015 Canadian film

Into the Forest is a 2015 Canadian apocalyptic independent drama film, written and directed by Patricia Rozema, based on the 1996 Jean Hegland book and starring Elliot Page and Evan Rachel Wood as orphaned survivalist sisters in a forest without electrical power.

Brian D. Johnson is a Canadian journalist and filmmaker, best known as an entertainment reporter and film critic for Maclean's.

The Toronto New Wave refers to a loose-knit group of filmmakers from Toronto who came of age during the 1980s and early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Toronto International Film Festival</span> 2018 film festival

The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to the festival were members of underrepresented groups, such as women and people of color. The People's Choice Award was won by Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly.

<i>Anthropocene: The Human Epoch</i> 2018 Canadian film

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch is a 2018 Canadian documentary film made by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky. It explores the emerging concept of a geological epoch called the Anthropocene, defined by the impact of humanity on natural development.

<i>Tammys Always Dying</i> 2019 film directed by Amy Jo Johnson

Tammy's Always Dying is a 2019 Canadian black comedy film directed by Amy Jo Johnson and written by Joanne Sarazen. It stars Felicity Huffman, Anastasia Phillips, Jessica Greco, Clark Johnson, Lauren Holly, Aaron Ashmore and Kristian Bruun.

<i>Antigone</i> (2019 film) 2019 film

Antigone is a 2019 Canadian drama film directed by Sophie Deraspe. An adaptation of the ancient Greek play Antigone by Sophocles, the film transposes the story to a modern-day refugee family in Montreal. The cast includes Nahéma Ricci as Antigone, with Rawad El-Zein, Hakim Brahimi, Rachida Oussaada, and Nour Belkhiria. It was filmed in Greater Montreal in 2018.

<i>Anne at 13,000 Ft.</i> 2019 Canadian film

Anne at 13,000 Ft. is a 2019 Canadian drama film. Directed and written by Kazik Radwanski, the film stars Deragh Campbell as Anne, a shy, socially awkward daycare worker whose attitude to her life and work is radically transformed after she skydives for the first time. It premiered in the Platform Prize program at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and received an honourable mention from the Platform Prize jury. In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list. After premiering on the festival circuit in 2019, the film's 2020 theatrical release was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deragh Campbell</span> Canadian actress

Deragh Campbell is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her acclaimed performances in independent Canadian cinema. Her collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz—Never Eat Alone (2016), Veslemøy's Song (2018), MS Slavic 7 (2019), and Point and Line to Plane (2020)—have screened at film festivals internationally. She has also featured in two of Kazik Radwanski's films, How Heavy This Hammer (2015) and Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mouthpiece is a 2015 Canadian feminist play by Norah Sadava and Amy Nostbakken of Quote Unquote Collective.

References

  1. Sumi, Glenn (August 29, 2018). "TIFF preview: giving women's stories a Mouthpiece". Now . Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Patricia Rozema goes back to producing roots with Mouthpiece". Playback , February 5, 2018.
  3. "Jodie Foster Liked This Canadian Play So Much She Brought It to L.A.". LA Weekly , June 9, 2017.
  4. "Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, and Hugh Jackman lead TIFF’s 2018 lineup". The Globe and Mail , July 24, 2018.
  5. Houpt, Simon (September 6, 2018). "TIFF 2018: Patricia Rozema's Mouthpiece is her most directly political film yet". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  6. "Mouthpiece (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. Sumi, Glenn (September 6, 2018). "TIFF review: Mouthpiece". Now . Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  8. Tobias, Scott (September 6, 2018). "Toronto Film Review: 'Mouthpiece'". Variety . Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  9. Hutchinson, Pamela (September 11, 2018). "Toronto first look: Mouthpiece puzzles the pieces of a mother's legacy". Sight & Sound . Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  10. "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list skews a lot younger this year". Now , December 5, 2018.