Contributed
For its first film of the summer season, the Vernon Film Society is screening Weirdos, July 17 at the Vernon Towne Cinema.
Canadian master Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) teams with veteran playwright and screenwriter Daniel MacIvor for this offbeat coming-of-age comedy-drama about two Nova Scotian teens who hit the road in July 1976 accompanied by the laconic ghost of Andy Warhol.
In rural Cape Breton in 1976, bored and restless 15-year-old Kit (Dylan Authors) is running away from the small town where he lives with his father (Alan Hawco) and grandmother (Cathy Jones). He enlists the help and company of his girlfriend Alice (Julia Sarah Stone), and together the teenage runaways hitchhike through stunning maritime scenery towards Kit’s new home with his glamourous, artistic mother, played by veteran Molly Parker.
It’s a journey that will force them to face some hard truths about themselves and point the way toward a more honest and fully-lived future. As the youngsters near their final destination, they find their relationship strongly tested, with Kit approaching a realization that will change his life forever.
Beautifully shot in black and white and scored with a raft of Canadian songs from the ’70s, the film spikes its road-movie template with a witty and inventive dash of magic realism.
“It’s …. a road film, a romance, and an exploration of teen angst all rolled into one,” said Andrew Parker of Toronto Film Scene.
Weirdos screens July 17 at the Vernon Towne Cinema at the regular times of 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Tickets are available one week ahead at the cinema and the Bean Scene Coffee House for $7. Cash only. Rated PG for coarse and sexual language, drug use. Voted Best Canadian Film at the 2017 Victoria Film Festival.