''Weirdos'' is a 2016 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Bruce McDonald and written by

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom '' Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, No ...

. It debuted at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

. Set in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

in 1976, it stars Dylan Authors as Kit, a teenager living in

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

who decides to run away to live with his mother in Sydney.

Plot

Kit (Dylan Authors) is a 15-year-old living in a small town in

with his single father Dave (

Allan Hawco Allan Hawco is a Canadian writer, actor, and producer from Bell Island, Newfoundland. He is best known for his roles in the series '' Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'', ''Republic of Doyle'', and '' The Book of Negroes'', and the television limited seri ...

) and grandmother Mary (

Cathy Jones Catherine Frederica "Cathy" Jones (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian actress, comedian and writer. She is known for her work for 28 years on the Canadian television series '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes''. Jones left the show in 2021. CODCO Jones ...

). He is dating Alice (

Julia Sarah Stone Julia Sarah Stone (born November 24, 1997) is a Canadian actress. She began studying theater at the age of six, and appeared in a number of school plays over the following years. After booking a small part in an independent short film in 2009, sh ...

) despite being unsure of his own sexuality. Deciding that he wants to go live with his mother Laura (

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 ...

) in Sydney, he enlists Alice's help to embark on a hitchhiking trip. Throughout the trip, Kit has regular imaginary conversations with

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

(Rhys Bevan-John), who has appointed himself Kit's "spirit animal".

Cast

List based on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Production

The film was shot in colour and later converted to black and white. McDonald said, "It's always difficult to shoot black and white because the powers that be, or the funders, are often wanting colour because colour is a bit more normal. (But) in the independent world, sometimes it does offer you those other kind of freedoms like, 'Let's go black and white!' And it's not for everybody, but a lot of people are like, 'Wow, that's just so beautiful in black and white.'" The film's soundtrack includes a predominantly Canadian lineup of rock and pop songs from the era, including

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

's "

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Nilsson in 1969. A track from his fourth studio album, ''Harry'', it became his second charting single. Background The song was written for, but not ...

", Lighthouse's "Love of a Woman",

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...

's " Summer Side of Life" and " Cotton Jenny", Rush's " Finding My Way",

Edward Bear Edward Bear was a Toronto-based Canadian pop- rock group. The band is best known for its chart-topping singles, "You, Me and Mexico", " Last Song", and " Close Your Eyes", used as the signing-off song for Delilah's radio show. History The Edwa ...

's " Last Song",

The Stampeders The Stampeders (sometimes shortened to Stampeders) are a Canadian rock trio consisting of lead guitarist and vocalist Rich Dodson, bassist Ronnie King and drummer Kim Berly. History Formed in Calgary, Alberta, in 1964 as the Rebounds. they ...

' "Carry Me", Crowbar's "Oh, What a Feeling", FM's "Phasers on Stun", Patsy Gallant's "From New York to L.A.",

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. His best known compositions include " It Must Be Love" which reached number 1 ...

's "

Crying Laughing Loving Lying ''Crying Laughing Loving Lying'' is a 1972 release by Labi Siffre. All songs were written, performed and produced by Labi Siffre. The album was recorded at Chappell Studios in London. The record contains two of Labi's best known songs: " It Must ...

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life Mc ...

's " Down by the Henry Moore" and

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

's "

Snowbird Snowbird is a common name for the dark-eyed junco (''Junco hyemalis''). Snowbird may also refer to: Places *Snowbird, Utah, an unincorporated area and associated ski resort *Snowbird Lake, a lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada *Snowbird ...

Reception

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 93%, based on 14 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. Adam Nayman of ''Cinema Scope'' stated, "It's nice that this latest work by a filmmaker who has sometimes chased hipness past its expiration date concludes on a note of deliberate, intergenerational non-cool." Brent Mcknight of ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

'' remarked, "The young leads are charming and authentic, and the film reminds us all to embrace our own weirdness." The ''

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 ...

''s Peter Howell said that "''Weirdos'' is one of Bruce McDonald's sweetest films." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

''s Sheri Linden called the film "A lovely, low-key memory piece, vibrant with the awkward grace of adolescence."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Bruce McDonald 2016 films 2010s drama road movies Canadian drama road movies Films directed by Bruce McDonald Canadian LGBT-related films 2016 LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films Films set in Nova Scotia Films shot in Nova Scotia Films set in 1976 Canadian black-and-white films Canadian independent films 2016 drama films LGBT-related coming-of-age films Canadian coming-of-age drama films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films