I’m not normally compelled to come home and write a review of a movie because everything has pretty much been said already- but that’s not the case with a fantastic new film that just had it’s premiere at TIFF on Saturday- Edwin Boyd. This movie is getting a lot of buzz- and rightfully so.
In his first feature, writer/director Nathan Morlando spent a lot of time getting to know the subject of his film. Inspired by the real life story of Toronto’s notorious post-war bank robbing Boyd Gang, Morlando was able to track down the real life Boyd (living on the West Coast in witness protection) and his family. Boyd and Morlando developed and maintained a close friendship right up to Boyd’s death in 2002. The movie that shares his name benefits from that connection and Morlando does a good job of creating our anti-hero.
Unfortunately for us, we never really understand Boyd. From why he suddenly walks away from his bus driving gig to why he suddenly starts robbing banks. Sure money is tight, but there isn’t anything (like the bank taking his house) to push him over the edge. Boyd has an undying desire to provide luscious material items for his wife- something she never asked for- and we never find out where this burning desire comes from.
The director explained after the movie that he examined post-war soldiers and their return home from war and was surprised that many of them turn to a life of crime. A good motive, but I don’t think that’s the only unexplained reason behind his character’s actions. Morlando does create a warm, loving home life for our bank robber to return to, but without knowing where his drive is coming from, it makes it hard for us to jump in completely.
But do yourself a favour and jump in. Scott Speedman’s portrayal of the WWII vet, turn wannabe actor, turn bank robber is nothing shy of amazing. Speedman’s character has the style and class of Don Draper mixed with the slight insanity of “The Joker”, whenever he dons his bank-robbing make-up. Boyd’s wife (Kelly Reilly) is fantastic as the woman in Boyd’s life who is always there to support him- regardless of his profession.
Kevin Durand is Lenny Jackson, a new recruit to the ‘gang’ that Boyd picks up after he breaks out of jail the first time. Jackson is the perfect partner to Boyd, never questioning him and only jealous of his growing celebrity for a few passing moments. Durnad does an excellent job of making us first fear, and then love him as Boyd’s new found friend and crime buddy.
The movie is nice and quick, only dragging its heels at the end of the second act when secondary characters are given too much screen time and their inconsequential stories are briefly pursued. Boyd’s wife finds out way to quickly that he is responsible for the string of bank robberies and leads to the only other pacing problem in the otherwise strong first effort from Morlando. The dark, cold, almost black and white style that he uses perfectly places us in the era and it’s a gem to look at. It follows the same standard path any gangster movie would follow, but it’s completely acceptable and enjoyable.
I’m rooting for this movie and hope it gets the wide release it deserves. With a little playing around, Edwin Boyd could be a 5 star film… it’s so close to it as it is.
I began to conceptualize this blog while reading Malalai Joya’s book A Woman Among Warlords, whose quote heads the blog’s initiative. Moved by the relentless spirit she portrayed for her cause to free the people of Afghanistan in this time of immense…
I’ve long called Toronto “The City of Plaques”. You’ve walked by them without noticing. They’re everywhere. “On this site…”
Toronto has torn down so much of its past for short term advances of its present. Look at Bay and Queen in the 1920s. Beautiful!
But we all know what it looks like now. Rubbish. No character at all. Surprisingly, Old City Hall still stands on this corner, which we can be thankful for. But imagine it in its original setting.
So we are all familiar with how much of Toronto’s past has been torn down, leaving the city bland and characterless, spare some misplaced buildings scattered throughout the city that somehow dodged the wrecking ball. And as Rafiki in The Lion King says… “It’s in the past. The way I see it… you can either run from it, or learn from it!”
But we have problems learning from our past here, and the city has consistently favoured tunnel visioned planning over long term grandiose ideas. 10 years ago there was this little known street at the foot of the CN Tower that no one in the city could have spelt if they were quizzed. It was beautifully tucked away at the foot of the city’s centre on old railway land.
Look up and you see the Downtown core.
At one end you have the Air Canada Centre
And the other, the CN Tower/ Skydome
And in between was wide open space. With so much potential. This street had the sporting and entertainment hubs of the city bookmarking it. It had such a beautiful backdrop in the shadows of all the iconic building of Toronto. And it was wide open. It’s called Bremner Blvd. Now of course, you know it for this:
Yep. Condos. That’s the best we could come up with. That’s the ACC down at the end there. Now I like what they’ve done with their end. They’ve created atmosphere and a place to be with Maple Leaf Square. And now at the other end, the brand new Ripley’s Aquarium.
That’s definitely a step in the right direction! But then in between, condos and office towers. Instead of waiting for the right ideas to pop up, the city took the first ideas, which are of course towers.
This area could have been the new Amusement District. How about a sparkly new casino!?
How about a couple of smaller 1,200 seat live theatres that can support long running shows on the Broadway model (that’s the average Broadway house size). A marquee comedy club? Or moving the Science Centre down there? Or a permanent Cirque attraction? A United Nations museum? Or a million other ideas?
Oh right, this is Toronto. So how about just some more condos…
Not that I want to draw attention to this ridiculousness, but whenever Kanye speaks around the time that his new album drops, one must always remember : Think Kanye’s a Jerk? Think Again!
until I realized it was not so fresh, and took it’s riff from a WAY cooler song
Which I’m ok with. I love that this sampling sent me to the original. But it makes me wonder if I’ll ever hear an original song again?
The answer is yes, because I eagerly await the next Dave Matthews album, but that’s not the point.
Is music mainstream music dead? There will always be fringe stuff going on that is original and inspiring, but are we subject to samples from better songs, blatant rip offs and coincidental lazyness?
“Fred Rosen (head of Ticketmaster) was sitting in his office one afternoon when he received an angst-fueled call from the general manager of an arena in a major metropolis.
‘I’m screwed.’
‘Why? What happened’
‘Well, to get the act, I gave away the rent.’
‘What do you mean you gave away the rent?’
‘I didn’t charge any rent so that they’ll play my building instead of the other building’
Rosen paused.
‘How much do you need’
”Oh, about fifteen, twenty grand.’
‘Okay, I’ll get it for you.’
‘How do you propose to do that?’
‘I’ll raise the service charge by a couple bucks. I’ll give you your rent and I’ll keep the spread.’
Once upon a time, if a show wasn’t making money it would close. But not anymore. Shows with 500 or more performances that haven’t made (or aren’t close to making) their money back are the new norm.
Rock of Ages (at over 800 shows and two theatres) has not recouped.
Memphis (at nearly 700 performances) has not paid back its investors.
Addams Family (nearly 500 performances) and
Million Dollar Quartet (over 450 shows and low costs) have not paid investors.
Now the new norm is plugging away and building your brand, which is great. But using the same model to do it is not. The demand for performances varies with a number of factors. These shows have the potential to sell out during tourist seasons and holiday weeks but struggle to find an audience to fill the theatre 8 times a week for the rest of the year.
So why 8 shows a week? Well, it’s built into all the union agreements that 8 is the maximum number of shows actors, tech, FOH etc. can do a week. It’s been like that for AGES. And 8 shows a week is perfect during peak times. But…
During slower periods it can take up a lot of effort and MONEY to try and fill those 8 performances. There is no minimum in the union agreements. And sure, you can look at it as money you have to pay out, so they might as well be doing a show. You don’t get any money back if there are only 6 shows a week. But that’s not the right way to think about it.
Instead of spending loads of marketing capital on trying to find an audience on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night, it would be much more profitable to find the biggest audience for your shows that sell. And then your show will sell itself. Nothing attracts a crowd….
Shows that are facing smaller audiences will often close balconies to make demand and supply more inline with each other, but stop short of reducing the number of performances. Which doesn’t make sense. You can’t tell me that those people going on Wednesday night will not go on a Thursday night if there is no Wednesday show!
Reduce the number of times you perform a week. Funnel those leftover patrons who would go on your slow night into another performance later in the week. Sell out your (for argument’s sake) 6 shows.
All of a sudden, you don’t have a 50% capacity show, you have patrons who need to book in advance, you’re not spending as much on advertising and you’ve turned around your show’s fortunes. And when the crowds are around, bump it back up to 8 performances and get as much money as you can!
Billed as the greatest thing the NHL has done since outdoor hockey, the fantasy draft turned out to be the lousiest thing the NHL has done since hockey in Arizona. Guys sitting around in suits in a studio, captains behind podiums with microphones and laptops, pretending to decide who they were going to ‘draft’ next.
It was a real hot mess. Or maybe my mind is just better at creating these things, so I’m easily disappointed when they don’t turn out right. When I first heard of it I thought it was a really cool idea. Maybe because this is the image that came to mind:
That’s right. Kids on skates, waiting to get picked, ready to play! Just like on the playground or pond when you’re standing in a line, waiting to get picked by the cool kids… who all go ahead of you… but that doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re about to play!
Who knows when these two teams are going to play. I’ve heard Sunday. This week I think. So where did it go wrong? Where do I start? Alright. A new angle: where could it have gone right?
It should have been a quick, painless event. It should have been on the ice before the All Star Game started. There shouldn’t have been computers and microphones and a host. It should have been authentic. Not a recreation of the NHL entry draft.
But that’s the NHL for you. It always has that special ability to take the game out of the sport, leaving behind just the business. It always has that special ability to forget that when it comes down to it, it’s only about creating magic for the fans.
Illustration by Selamawit Ghebrehiwot
