''Like a House on Fire'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by Jesse Noah Klein and released in 2021. The film stars

Sarah Sutherland Sarah Jude Sutherland is a Canadian-American actress, best known for her role as Catherine Meyer in ''Veep''. Early life Sutherland was born in Los Angeles, California, to Kiefer Sutherland and his first wife, Camelia Kath. She is the granddau ...

and

Jared Abrahamson Jared Abrahamson is a Canadian actor. He is known for his performance in the 2016 film ''Hello Destroyer'', for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor and won the award for Best Actor in a Canadian Film at the Vancouver ...

Plot

Dara returns home two years after running away from her family due to

post-partum depression Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth, which can affect both sexes. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, Fatigue (medical), low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irr ...

. She learns that her daughter, Isabel, does not remember her and that her husband, Danny, has started a new relationship with Therese, who is seven months pregnant. Dara moves in with her father and stepmother, Jack and Audrey. While trying to earn Danny's trust, and form a relationship with Isabel, Dara also builds the courage to face her own mother, Katherine, who abandoned her as a baby and does not know Dara at all.

Production

The film is a coproduction by Colonelle Films from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and Woods Entertainment from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Cast

as Dara *

as Danny *

Dominique Provost-Chalkley Dominique Provost-Chalkley (born 24 March 1990) is a British-Canadian actor, best known for their role as Waverly Earp on the television series '' Wynonna Earp''. Career They began dancing at the age of four and, at the age of 16, began traini ...

as Therese * Margaux Vaillancort as Isabel *

Amanda Brugel Amanda Brugel (born March 24, 1978) is a Canadian actress. Born and raised in Pointe-Claire (a suburb of Montreal), Quebec, she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Vendetta'' (1999). This was followed by roles in the comedy film '' A Diva's ...

as Audrey * Hubert Lenoir as Jordan *

Sheila McCarthy Sheila McCarthy (born January 1, 1956) is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an AC ...

as Katherine *

Yanna McIntosh Yanna McIntosh (born 1970), sometimes credited as Yanna MacIntosh, is a Jamaican-born Canadian television, movie and theatrical actress. Early life McIntosh attended the University of Toronto and the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Ha ...

as Nancy *

Michael Riley Michael Riley (born February 4, 1962) is a Canadian actor. From 1998 to 2000, he portrayed Brett Parker in ''Power Play''. He has acted in over 40 films and television series, including '' This Is Wonderland'', for which he received a Gemini Awa ...

as Jack

Release

The film was screened for film critics and distributors in the Industry Selects film market at the

2020 Toronto International Film Festival The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the 45th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 10 to 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival took place primarily on an online stream ...

, but was not made available for viewing by the general public.Jeremy Kay
"‘After Love’, ‘Saint-Narcisse’, among 30 sales titles to join TIFF industry roster"
''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'', September 1, 2020. It had its commercial premiere on March 26 at the Cinéma du Parc in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, before being released to

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

streaming platforms in both English and French versions on March 30.

Critical response

André Duchesne of '' La Presse'' rated the film three and a half stars, praising the performances of Sutherland and Abrahamson. Writing for ''The Film Stage'', Jared Mobarak also reviewed the film positively, writing that "Sutherland is great in the lead role. We see when Dara’s putting on a front and when that façade cracks under the pressure of pretending she can outrun what’s hiding beneath. Abrahamson moves between the emotions of being close to her and knowing that that closeness is no longer possible with authenticity as Provost-Chalkley proves the unsung MVP of the whole thanks to the compassion her Thérèse provides without fail from the moment she enters the frame. Klein could have written their two characters very differently and pushed Dara to a much darker place as a result, but he chose to embrace hope instead. While it’s not the hope she had of preserving her family, the opportunity to enter theirs and share it is hope just the same."Jared Mobarak
"TIFF Review: Like a House on Fire is a Nuanced, Emotional Story of a Family Reconnecting"
''The Film Stage'', September 22, 2020.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 10514240 2021 films 2021 drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films shot in Ontario 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films