Essays and Reviews


    CURTIS’S CHARM
 
Director: John L’Ecuyer
Year: 1995

Runtime: 74 minutes

Country: Canada

Cast:
Callum Keith Rennie, Maurice Dean Wint
Screening Times:
October 20, 2009 9:00 PM
preceded by
THE LAST POGO
Screens at Jackman Hall
Images Courtesy of the Film Reference Library
 
  
 


JOHN L’ECUYER IN PERSON!

Cited by Geoff Pevere in Toronto on Film as one of the last Toronto films of the Nineties to deal with lower class existence, Curtis’s Charm follows two junkies, Jim (Callum Keith Rennie) and his buddy Curtis (Maurice Dean Wint), as they struggle to stay afloat in a city that would rather ignore them. Convinced that his mother-in-law has laid a voodoo curse on him, Curtis is terrified of everything (including a suspicious looking squirrel) until Jim begins playing along with him. Based on cult writer Jim Carroll’s work, Curtis’s Charm seamlessly transplants the New York-set story to Toronto. Shot in gorgeous black and white by Harald Bachmann, the film finds a near perfect balance of comedy and drama, while remaining emotionally affecting. Rennie and Wint deliver stellar performances.

 Rated 14A.