''Sitting on the Edge of Marlene'' is a Canadian crime drama film, directed by Ana Valine and released in 2014. An adaptation of
Billie Livingston
Billie Livingston is a Canadian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Livingston grew up in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver.
Her critically acclaimed first novel, ''Going Down ...
's novella ''The Trouble with Marlene'',Glen Schaefer, "Dark drama long time coming for Ana Valine; Director's friends, colleagues team up for Sitting On The Edge Of Marlene". ''
The Province
''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...
'', April 7, 2013. the film stars Suzanne Clément as Marlene Bell, a grifter and con artist who is indoctrinating her daughter Sammie (
Paloma Kwiatkowski
Paloma Kwiatkowski (born May 29, 1994) is a Canadian film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Thalia Grace in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (film), ''Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters'' (2013) and Cody in Bates Motel (TV seri ...
) in the ways of crime with the help of her colleague Fast Freddy ( Callum Keith Rennie); meanwhile, Sammie has other ideas about her future, and develops a romantic interest in Drew (
Dakota Daulby
Dakota Daulby (born October 10, 1994) is a Canadian film and television actor, producer, director and screenwriter.
Early life
Daulby was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He spends his time between his home town of Maple Ridge and Vancouver ...
), a devoutly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
teenager who hangs out at the local roller rink.Chris Knight, "Mommy dearest; Film Review; Sitting on the Edge of Marlene". ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'', March 20, 2015.
The film was shot in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
in 2013, and had its theatrical premiere on the film festival circuit in 2014 before going into commercial release in 2015.
In 2016, the film was picked up for U.S. distribution by Breaking Glass Pictures.
Critical response
Chris Knight of the ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' gave the film a mixed review, writing that it was uneven but praising Clément and Kwiatkowski's performances. For '' Now'', Radheyan Simonpillai placed the film in the context of an apparent eruption of mommy issues in Canadian cinema, alongside
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
's ''
Maps to the Stars
''Maps to the Stars'' is a 2014 internationally co-produced satire (film and television), satirical drama film directed by David Cronenberg, and starring Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson, Olivia Williams, Sarah Gadon, ...
'' and Xavier Dolan's '' Mommy'', opining that the character of Marlene "resembles five Dolan characters spun into one" but praising Kwiatkowski for keeping the film anchored in smaller comedic moments. He concluded that "Sammie's frustrated attempts to escape either through suicide or Jesus are handled with a light touch and feel genuine and quirky, very different from the heavy mugging going on the rest of the time."
Awards
Valine won the award for Best Director at the Leo Awards in 2014, and Grant Pearse won the award for Best Production Design. The film was also a nominee for Best Picture, Best Actress (Kwiatkowski), Best Screenplay (Valine), Best Editing (Lara Mazur and Fredrik Thorsen) and Best Sound Editing (Greg Stewart, Miguel Nunes, Gina Mueller, Don Harrison and Ian Mackie).
At the 2014 Vancouver International Film Festival, Valine won the awards for BC Emerging Filmmaker and Women in Film & Television Vancouver Artistic Merit.Marsha Lederman, "Norwegian-language film picks up two VIFF awards". ''
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 ...