''Suspicious River'' is a 2000 Canadian drama film directed by

Lynne Stopkewich Lynne Stopkewich (born 1964) is a Canadian film director. She attracted attention for her feature film directorial debut '' Kissed'' (1996). Life and career In 1987, Stopkewich obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in film studies from Conc ...

, based on a novel by

Laura Kasischke Laura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and poet. She is best known for writing the novels '' Suspicious River'', ''The Life Before Her Eyes'' and '' White Bird in a Blizzard'', all of which have been adapted to film. Life and work She was ...

, and starring

Molly Parker Molly Parker (born 30 June 1972) is a Canadian actress, writer, and director. She has had roles in independent films as well as television. Her accolades include two Genie Awards, one Canadian Screen Award, one Independent Spirit Awards nomina ...

and

Callum Keith Rennie Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a British-born Canadian actor who started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski on the television series '' Due South'' was his firs ...

. Its plot follows a young woman in 1981 who begins prostituting herself and consequently finds herself in a precarious situation after beginning a sexual relationship with one of her customers.

Plot

In 1981 Leila Murray works as a receptionist in a motel. She begins to offer sexual services to customers in exchange for money. As she explores her sexuality, she discovers within herself an attraction towards semi-rough sex. One of her customers, Gary Jensen, beats her during their first encounter. When he returns to apologize, she accepts and begins to see him again. When one of Leila's other customers gets too rough, Leila flees to Gary's room to seek his consolation and protection. His gentle treatment of her encourages her growing trust in him. Leila's only confidant, outside of Gary, is a little girl that plays around the inn. The girl lives in an unhappy home, where her parents fight constantly. One day, the girl's Uncle Andy takes the child and her mother Bonnie on a roadtrip. In the midst of this trip, the little girl discovers that her mother and her Uncle Andy are having an affair. Meanwhile, Leila has grown very close to Gary, who begins to represent an escape from her passionless marriage and dead-end job. She stops charging him for sex. Despite momentary misgivings about his intentions, his passion convinces her to turn away from her life. She steals the money from the inn, and gives it to Gary, along with her savings acquired through her sexual services of the inn's clients. Together, they drive away in his car to his cabin in the woods. Once there, she is informed by one of Gary's friends that he is a pimp, and that his intention is to sell her services to his friends. Trapped, with no money or means of transportation, she is raped and beaten by a group of men invited by Gary. In the midst of her trauma, her mind turns back to the day in her childhood when her Uncle Andy had taken Leila's mother Bonnie out on a roadtrip and killed Bonnie in a fit of jealousy, right in front of the child Leila. It is thus revealed that Leila 'is' the little girl to whom she had been talking throughout the film. The little girl's broken home life holds the key to Leila's grown-up sexuality. After Leila is raped, one of the men takes pity on her and helps her to escape Gary's cabin. Gary and the men form a search party and comb the woods to find her. The little girl, Leila's child self, appears to Leila to inform her that Gary intends to kill her and that she must fight for her survival. When Gary finds Leila, he is distracted by the distant screaming of the little girl that he can't see, and Leila takes the opportunity to run off and flee to safety in the arms of her friend and co-worker Millie, who had been searching the woods for her, as well. Thus Leila turns her back on Gary and acknowledges the previously-suppressed memories of her past.

Cast

as Leila Murray *

as Gary Jensen *

Joel Bissonnette Joel Bissonnette is a Canadian-American actor. Early life and education Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bissonnette was raised in Montreal, Quebec. He is a graduate of the Dawson College Theatre Program in Montreal. Career Bissonnette is best ...

as Rick Schmidt *Byron Lucas as Uncle Andy *

Norman Armour Norman Armour (October 14, 1887– September 27, 1982) was a career United States diplomat whom ''The New York Times'' once called "the perfect diplomat". In his long career spanning both World Wars, he served as Chief of Mission in eight countri ...

as Jack Murray *

Sarah-Jane Redmond Sarah-Jane Redmond is a British actress and acting coach, living in Canada, whose work has spanned film, television and theatre productions, often in science fiction roles. She has taught acting at the New Image College of Fine Arts in British C ...

as Bonnie Murray *

Deanna Milligan Deanna Milligan (born January 1, 1972, Vancouver, Canada) is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous Canadian and American films and television shows. Career Milligan had a major role playing Dave Thomas' daughter in ''The Beachcomber ...

as Millie

Awards and nominations

Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

Nominations: *Best Director of Feature Length Drama (

) *Best Musical Score of Feature Length Drama (Don MacDonald) *Best Overall Sound of Best Feature Length Drama *Best Performance of Feature Length Drama - Female (

) *Best Picture Editing of Feature Length Drama (Allan Lee) *Best Screenwriter of Feature Length Drama (

)

Wins: *Best Cinematography of Feature Length Drama (

Gregory Middleton Gregory Middleton is a Canadian cinematographer,Mark Dillon"Gregory Middleton’s sense of vision" '' Playback'', December 15, 1999. who won the Genie Award for Best Cinematography at the 29th Genie Awards for his work on the film ''Fugitive Piec ...

) *Best Feature Length Drama *Best Performance of Feature Length Drama - Male (

)

External links

*
Press Notes
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720233752/http://beyond.com.au/pdfs/suspiciousriver.pdf , date=2008-07-20 2000 films English-language Canadian films Canadian drama films Films directed by Lynne Stopkewich Films shot in British Columbia Films based on American novels 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films