At last! A Canadian movie that is set in Canada. Mind you, they don't emphasize it but they don't hide it either. For once I don't have to look at Alberta posing as a stand in for Wyoming. It's not too clear just where in Canada the action takes place (BC maybe???) and whether the cops are really RCMP.(Where are the Stetsons and the pictures of the Queen?) Whatever! Nor could the producers resist the American cops and doughnuts cliché that is more suited to satire than suspense. I suspect they did it in such a way so as not to offend people like me who rage about cinematic "pimping" while still letting parochial American audiences think the action is happening in their country. (No Stetson, no flags, no Queen!) In other words, play both sides of the street. (border?) And what was that business about shoelaces? This is not a great movie by any stretch of the cinematic imagination. It suffers from the Canadian film maker's obsession with cheap motels and 1960 style bathrooms. And the acting --- or maybe it's the direction --- has that uniquely stilted, jerky, artificial Canadian style that says "we're getting a little better at this but not much!" I'm puzzled why the male character is from Paris rather than Quebec and why they went to Paris to shoot one brief street scene. Some kind of co-production deal maybe? It has its flaws. But then what would a Canadian movie be without flaws? (What would Swiss cheese be without holes?) But the plot is catchy with several unanticipated turns. And the ending --- well, I don't want to write a spoiler here --- but the ending is a surprise but not necessarily an acceptable surprise.
Review of The Kate Logan Affair
