''Margarita'' is a Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Laurie Colbert and Dominique Cardona and released in 2012.Robert Bell
"Margarita - Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert"
'' Exclaim!'', June 20, 2013. The film stars

Nicola Correia-Damude Nicola Correia-Damude (born 21 June 1981) is a Canadian actress based in Toronto. Career Television and film Correia-Damude has had recurring roles on ''Shadowhunters'', ''Annedroids'', '' The Boys'' and ''The Strain''. Additional television c ...

as Margarita, a lesbian immigrant from Mexico who works as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

for a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

couple, but is placed at risk of

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

when their financial situation forces them to let her go. The cast includes

Patrick McKenna Patrick McKenna (born May 8, 1960) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series '' The Red Green Show''. Early life Patrick McKenna became interested in Second City when a high-school teac ...

and Claire Lautier as her employers Ben and Gail, Maya Ritter as their daughter Mali, and

Christine Horne Christine Horne (born December 14, 1981, in Aurora, Ontario) is a Canadian actress who co-starred with Ellen Burstyn in the movie ''The Stone Angel''. She received her BFA in Theatre at York University in 2004 and has since become an establish ...

as Margarita's girlfriend.Linda Barnard
"Margarita a predictable domestic drama: review"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', June 20, 2013. The film premiered at the 2012

Créteil International Women's Film Festival The Créteil International Women's Film Festival (in French Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil) is an annual event in Créteil, France, founded by Jackie Buet in 1978 to showcase the directing talents of female filmmakers who, ...

Critical response

Writing for the ''

'', Linda Barnard called the film a predictable domestic drama, but praised Correia-Damude for her performance. For ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', Liam Lacey wrote that the cast "works valiantly and the cinematography is crisp, but trite characterizations and an earnest-cutesy tone make this movie feel like too much domestic labour." Robert Bell of '' Exclaim!'' wrote that "Beyond the assertion that they understand the world's woes and can appreciate the altruistic and entirely loveable lower class, there's a contrary preoccupation with job title as key signifier of a person's importance. Much like the doctors in '' Finn's Girl'', everyone, aside from Margarita, is a doctor, dentist or law student. While appropriate, since the majority of Toronto is convinced of their own importance, Colbert and Cardona are unaware of this irony or vulgar superficiality, instead demonstrating blind adherence to an amusing status quo."

Awards

The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2012

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

."Margarita grabs audience award at Inside Out Festival"
'' Playback'', June 1, 2012.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2318601 2012 films Canadian comedy-drama films Canadian LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films 2012 LGBT-related films LGBT-related comedy-drama films English-language Canadian films Films scored by Germaine Franco Films directed by Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films