Felicia's Journey (1999)

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Ever since I have seen ‘Exotica’, I have been a fan of Atom Egoyan and I have tried to follow his work ever since even though I didn’t watch many of his movies. Lately, Egoyan seems to be going through a difficult period creatively speaking since all his recent movies (‘The Captive’, ‘Devil’s Knot’ and ‘Chloe’) received some really poor reviews. Anyway, after ‘Exotica’, I h... read more

Description: Stumbling through the beautifully rendered industrial Midlands, England, in clunky platform shoes, hair fashioned in a childlike ponytail, the young Irish Felicia (Cassidy) plows along in search of the boyfriend who impregnated her and promised to write. Along the way she meets the kindly, middle-aged Joseph Hilditch who offers to help her find her love. However, all is not as it seems--the mild-mannered catering manager of a large factory is, in fact, unhinged. As the story unfolds we follow his attempts to befriend and earn the trust of the guileless Felicia--who, as a product of Irish old world superstition and family dysfunc Stumbling through the beautifully rendered industrial Midlands, England, in clunky platform shoes, hair fashioned in a childlike ponytail, the young Irish Felicia (Cassidy) plows along in search of the boyfriend who impregnated her and promised to write. Along the way she meets the kindly, middle-aged Joseph Hilditch who offers to help her find her love. However, all is not as it seems--the mild-mannered catering manager of a large factory is, in fact, unhinged. As the story unfolds we follow his attempts to befriend and earn the trust of the guileless Felicia--who, as a product of Irish old world superstition and family dysfunction (a world that Egoyan reveals in sparing yet memorably atmospheric glimpses) is utterly clueless as to his motives. Hilditch, played with a creepy undercurrent intensity by Hoskins, also manages to be truly sympathetic at the same time. A bachelor, he obsessively and ritualistically prepares torturously detailed meals for himself--instructed via videotapes of an old TV cooking program hosted by his late, overbearing French mother, who had forced her unattractive, socially graceless and unwilling young son to be her guinea pig. The legacy of his mother's effect on him is revealed in Hilditch's own precise, neurotic focus on cooking; and in a quiet sub-hobby--meeting and befriending young women who eventually disappear from his life. The film chronicles his latest "relationship" with the singular Felicia.

Based on the best-selling novel by Irish author William Trevor, Egoyan's follow-up to his critically acclaimed THE SWEET HEREAFTER is technically impressive in the way it serves up its somber, ghoulish tale. The film is effortlessly smooth, indelibly rendered and yet simultaneously bone-chillingly creepy and oppressive--one can practically smell the decay lurking beneath the gleaming surfaces of Hilditch's immaculate kitchen. Egoyan once again proves he is a director who is completely in control of his material and vision, even if the story hasn't sprung singularly from his mind. He also remains one of the few artists who have the ability to craft a film that is slickly accomplished, emotionally grueling to watch, and entertaining at the same time.
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