SYNOPSIS: In “The Voices of Our Mother,” a new gothic family drama now playing in theatres, a death in the family revives old animosities and secrets, leaving a group of estranged siblings to wonder if their situation is natural or supernatural.
CAST: Mark O’Brien, Sheila McCarthy, Georgina Reilly, Carolina Bartczak, Alex Ozerov-Meyer, and Anna Ferguson.
REVIEW: A mix of family drama and the supernatural, “The Voices of Our Mother” takes geriatric health issues and gives them a demonic spin.
When we first meet family matriarch Harriet Scaflen (Sheila McCarthy) her health has taken a turn after the death of his 95-year-old mother.
Her four children, William (Mark O’Brien, who also wrote and directs), Annika (Georgina Reilly), Therese (Carolina Bartczak) and Martin (Alex Ozerov-Meyer), are summoned to the family home to figure out next steps. Trouble is, they are estranged from her and each other.
Despite their mother’s presiding physician’s claims that she “appears to be healthy,” something must be wrong because mom has never behaved like this before.
A story of evil awoken from resentment, revenge, grief and intergenerational trauma, “The Voices of Our Mother” has a great ensemble, but it’s Sheila McCarthy’s wild performance that sticks.
The “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing” hands in an uninhibited performance that brings her inner demon to the fore. She’s no stranger to horror, having appeared in “Anything for Jackson,” a dark horror comedy about ancient spells and a “reverse-exorcism,” but her work here brings an intensity that is truly disturbing. It’s also interesting to see the usual trope of a child possessed by evil flipped to an elderly matriarch.
Writer, director and actor Mark O’Brien takes a relatable situation, a family brought together to care for a parent, and weaves in ideas of intergenerational trauma and family secrets as a catalyst for a slow-burn story of ancestral evil and possession.
Add to that atmospheric sound design and some wild practical effects and you get “The Family Stone” meets “The Exorcist” with a side of “Hereditary” for extra impact.
“The Voices of Our Mother’s” slow burn ignites when McCarthy lets her freak flag fly but it also does a nice job of blending family dysfunction with the supernatural.
This week on “Pop Life” Aja Naomi King, who plays Michaela Pratt on the legal drama series “How to Get Away with Murder,” talks self-worth, collaboration and her journey into television acting. Them, the “Pop Life” panel, sports anchor Jay Onrait, Olympian and broadcaster Rosey Edeh and actress Carolina Bartczak, discuss partnerships in creative fields.
Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s talk show POP LIFE.
Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Meat Loaf, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.
The “Pop Life” panel, sports anchor Jay Onrait, Olympian and broadcaster Rosey Edeh and actress Carolina Bartczak, discuss partnerships in creative fields.
Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s talk show POP LIFE.
Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Meat Loaf, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.
This week on “Pop Life” Aja Naomi King, who plays Michaela Pratt on the legal drama series “How to Get Away with Murder,” talks self-worth, collaboration and her journey into television acting. Watch the whole thing HERE!
“You are deserving just because you’re here.”
Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s talk show POP LIFE.
Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Meat Loaf, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.
Based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Joan Clark, “An Audience of Chairs” is the story of a manic depressive woman’s pursuit of compassion and connection.
When we first meet Maura Mackenzie (Carolina Bartczak) she’s eyeing a career as a concert pianist. With an upcoming audition for an American tour she and daughters Bonnie (Grace Keeping) and Brianna (Lauren Patten) head to their Newfoundland summer home for some rest and relaxation. Just as they arrive Maura’s journalist husband Duncan (Chris Jacot) calls with some bad news. On assignment in Russia, he’s decided to stay for the rest of the summer to follow a lead.
Faced with missing her audition and feeling her career aspirations taking a backseat to his, she falls into a depression. She sleeps through the day as her young children look after and feed themselves. Worse, on a day trip Maura, in a manic state, leaves the girls unattended, open to danger.
Duncan returns after the incident and relocating the kids to Scotland. Diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, followed by a full-scale breakdown and a suicide attempt, Maura is alone as her mental health deteriorates. At her lowest moment she meets good-natured truck driver Ben (Gord Rand) who becomes her boyfriend.
Jump ahead twenty years. The children are grown, strangers to Maura who hasn’t seen them in decades. When it is announced that Bonnie will be married in the local church, Maura hopes for forgiveness and reconciliation.
“An Audience of Chairs” does not pull any punches in its examination of Maura’s struggle with mental illness. Bartczak never slips into caricature or loses sights of the character’s humanity. The story dips into some very bleak territory but the lead performance reminds us that Maura is more than her mental illness; that she is a person of depth and resilience. She’s a strong character at the centre of an important story.
SYNOPSIS: In “The Voices of Our Mother,” a new gothic family drama now playing in theatres, a death in the family revives old animosities and secrets, leaving a group of estranged siblings to wonder if their situation is natural or supernatural.
