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| Original casting for Tom Hanks and Wilson |
I love movies that are about small towns. Probably because I never lived in a town small enough to know everyone by name, to be honest. There's something so warm and inviting about the idea. And I just love the general notion of people from Newfoundland. Those Newfies just feel like a bunch of kind-hearted-not-sure-if-they're-Irish-people. It's probably what caused me to like The Grand Seduction as much as I did, despite the fact that it has some issues at times.
Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) has been a resident of the town of Tickle Head his entire life. He remembers the good old days of the men of the town being fishermen, going out, providing for their families, then coming home and living happy lives. However, that time is now gone, and because of fishing bans, the residents of Tickle Head live paycheck to paycheck, in hopes that their town can get a factory into their town to create jobs. However, they don't have a town doctor, and without a town doctor, none of that can be improved. That's where Dr. Paul Lewis (Taylor Kitsch), a young doctor needing a break from city life, comes in. Paul is coming to Tickle Head for one month, and the residents are adament to make him fall in love with the town and stay.
The strength of the film really lies in the performances of the actors involved, specifically Gleeson and Kitsch. There's something about Brendan Gleeson's acting style that just lends him perfectly to any role he chooses, and this is no exception as he plays Murray with an instant lovable nature. He's just a guy who loves his home and will do anything to make sure it continues to carry on. Kitsch is equally as good, playing a departure from the characters he's known for, instead playing a naive kind doctor looking to make a change and find where he fits in. It's nice seeing him do this kind of movie, instead of the big budget stuff that seems to follow him post Friday Night Lights.
The supporting cast is all decent, none of them particularly standing out, though I felt, for a movie trying to make you root for its residents and invite you into their lives, I never really knew a whole lot about anyone besides Murray and Paul. That along with some pacing issues as well as musical choices for scenes left me wondering why such a delightfully written and directed film could lose steam in certain scenes as fast as they did. However, they do make the town look like everything you'd expect from a small fishing town of less than 150 people, so kudos for that.
Ultimately, The Grand Seduction probably won't stick with you long after you've seen it. It's a nice, light film with strong performances from the always reliable Brendan Gleeson, and Tim Riggins himself Taylor Kitsch. It's got fun dialogue and clearly a labour of love to make, but falters in scenes where it should be cementing itself. Not quite a seduction, but still pretty damn enchanting.
Grade: B-
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