It is the story of two sisters, Yoli and Elf. Author struggling with an ex who asks her for a divorce which she hesitates to grant him as well as a teenager whom she struggles to see emancipate, Yoli envies Elf, to whom everything succeeds, from the loving husband to the career of pianist celebrated. However, like their father in the past, Elf wishes to die, to the great displeasure of Yoli, who intends to convince her to continue living. Written and directed by Michael McGowan, All My Puny Sorrows (Poor little sorrows) is the adaptation of the award-winning novel by Miriam Toews.
There’s no shortage of goodness in the film, starting with a pair of expertly nuanced performances from Alison Pill (Yoli) and Sarah Gadon (Elf). The cinematography of Daniel Grant (Night Raiders, by Danis Goulet) is also inspired. It is unfortunately different for the scenario and the staging – devoid of ideas, relief, imagination – of McGowan.
It’s a cliché to say that “the novel was better”, but hey, that’s what it is.
At its core, Miriam Toews bases her narrative on a powerful dilemma, preserved in the film. Namely: can we, and should we, in the name of the love given to a person, force them to live when they are as unhappy as stones.
In the background of the plot arises the question of mental health and heredity, through the former suicide of the father of the protagonists. Alas, the film does not delve into this nevertheless determining aspect, preferring to stick to sequences of confrontations between the sisters in what sometimes resembles sub-Bergman.
Wrong approach
Michael McGowan is a capable director, but his precedents one week (Seven days), a pan-Canadian melodrama that looks like an expensive tourist infomercial, Score: A Hockey Musicalwhich is self-explanatory, and Still Mine (Until the end), another production worth especially for the memorable acting of its stars James Cromwell and Geneviève Bujold, hardly prepared him for the kind of psychological subtleties inherent in this material.
McGowan’s approach is narratively explicit (with explanatory dialogue) and visually literal (example: the announcement of Elf’s suicide attempt followed by a slow-motion flashback of the two toddler sisters; help) .
However, there are passages that remain, such as the one where, after yet another face-to-face, Yoli declares: “You don’t want me to talk about the past because it’s too painful. You don’t want me to talk about the future because you don’t see one. So I’m going to stick to the present moment. I breathe in, I breathe out…”
On the other hand, we regret the more vague than mysterious treatment of the rigorous community from which Yoli and Elf come. Both of their mothers also turn out to be one of the most interesting characters, but also the most underdeveloped. Excellent as usual, Mare Winningham manages to breathe an illusion of depth into this score. Ditto for Mimi Kuzyk, who makes a strong impression during her brief scenes as Aunt Tina. Finally, All My Puny Sorrows makes a lot of mileage on the brilliance of its actresses.