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For people who may be curious about this film because they enjoyed "The Trotsky" -- be warned! Although the story also takes place in Montreal, and writer/director Jacob Tierney is working with some of the same actors, this story is much darker and its view of human nature is a lot less upbeat -- Jay Baruchel and Emily Hampshire are playing very different characters this time around. Let's face it ... the resident cats are the nicest creatures you encounter in the main setting, a run-down apartment building in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, or NDG. As in his previous work, Tierney's up-front about the Canadian setting, and doesn't try to pass it off as some generic US city. There are numerous references to the English-French cultural conflicts, in the months during and after the Quebec referendum in 1995. The dreary cold winter helps accentuate the isolation that the building's occupants are experiencing. On the surface, the story would appear to be about the friendships that new arrival Victor (Baruchel) makes when he moves in. But the key characters are all flawed in some way -- hostile, delusional, passive-aggressive -- and inevitably the tense situation deteriorates. I don't want to give away too much, but people who are really turned off by onscreen violence, to the point of having nightmares if things get too graphic, may want to skip the last half of the film. Aside from that, it's a fascinating character study about the interactions of a group of troubled people. Some of them seem to be textbook examples of what psychologists like Robert Hare have been trying to warn us about. There is some comedy, but it's appropriately dark and disturbed. There's an extended nude scene, but given what leads up to it, people may find it more ominous than titillating. Really, by the end of the film I was just grateful that I don't live in that building!Read full review
Good Neighbors (DVD, 2011) Scott Speedman, Emily Hampshire, Jay Baruchel
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Very very good movie
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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