It's set in 1979 and 1986, primarily in Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon, Canada. It's a coming-of-age biopic of a girl raised in a hippie counter-culture.
Cea Sunrise Person (River Price-Maenpaa/Amanda Fix) is born and raised in a hippie bush-based commune headed by her grandfather, Dick (Robert Carlyle), and grandmother Jeanne (Janet Porter). Her mother, Michelle (Sarah Gadon), had Cea when she was 15. Michelle has many live-in boyfriends and has limited success coping with life on her own.
"North of Normal" tells the story of Cea's relationship with her mother and often flips between Cea's life at age eight and age 15. She lived with her grandparents in the Yukon in the unshown intervening years. We learn about several of Michelle's partners, including Karl (Benedict Samuel), Barry (Kelly Penner), and Sam (James D'Arcy), and their varying impacts on Cea. We also learn of Cea's dream of becoming a fashion model, somewhat supported by her mother but denounced by her grandfather. By the film's end, we see the resolution of Cea's and Michelle's relationship.
"North of Normal" tells a sometimes horrific story with humor and a measure of grace for the human condition. Many times Cea seems like the only adult in the room. Michelle is a sympathetic, if hapless, character. Price-Maenpaa and Amanda Fix are excellent as Cea, and Gadon and Carlyle also play their characters very well.
Cea Sunrise Person (River Price-Maenpaa/Amanda Fix) is born and raised in a hippie bush-based commune headed by her grandfather, Dick (Robert Carlyle), and grandmother Jeanne (Janet Porter). Her mother, Michelle (Sarah Gadon), had Cea when she was 15. Michelle has many live-in boyfriends and has limited success coping with life on her own.
"North of Normal" tells the story of Cea's relationship with her mother and often flips between Cea's life at age eight and age 15. She lived with her grandparents in the Yukon in the unshown intervening years. We learn about several of Michelle's partners, including Karl (Benedict Samuel), Barry (Kelly Penner), and Sam (James D'Arcy), and their varying impacts on Cea. We also learn of Cea's dream of becoming a fashion model, somewhat supported by her mother but denounced by her grandfather. By the film's end, we see the resolution of Cea's and Michelle's relationship.
"North of Normal" tells a sometimes horrific story with humor and a measure of grace for the human condition. Many times Cea seems like the only adult in the room. Michelle is a sympathetic, if hapless, character. Price-Maenpaa and Amanda Fix are excellent as Cea, and Gadon and Carlyle also play their characters very well.