On this August 12, 2023 edition of the Richard Crouse Show we get to know American film director, production designer, and screenwriter Catherine Hardwicke. Her directorial work includes “Thirteen,” ”Lords of Dogtown,” the megahit “Twilight,” “Miss Bala” and “mafia Momma” among many others. Today she’s here to talk about her latest film, “Prisoner’s Daughter,” a family drama starring “Succession’s” Brian Cox as a father hoping to reconnect with his estranged daughter and her son.
We’ll also meet author Wayne Ng. Wayne is an an award-winning short story and travel writer who was recently nominated for the Guernica Prize for his latest book, a family drama called THE FAMILY CODE, which was, in part, inspired by his 30 year career as a social worker.
Finally, we meet Phil Dellio. His new book, “Happy for a While: “American Pie,” 1972, and the Awkward, Confusing Now,” is a look at the famous Don McLean song and how to approach great art made by people whose personal transgressions become a matter of public record.
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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I join CTV NewsChannel to talk about the horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the dramedy “the Beanie Bubble,” and the family dramas “Prisoner’s Daughter.”
I sit in for NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the dramedy “The Beanie Bubble” and the family dramas “Prisoner’s Daughter.”
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the dramedy “The Beanie Bubble,” season two of the Disney+ series “The Bear” and the Crave true crime docu-series “Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New Yor.”
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Tim Denis to have a look at the horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the dramedy “the Beanie Bubble,” and the family dramas “Prisoner’s Daughter” and “North of Normal.”
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the dramedy “the Beanie Bubble,” and the family dramas “Prisoner’s Daughter” and “North of Normal.”
I joined CP24 to have a look at new movies coming to VOD, streaming services and theatres. Today we talk about the family friendly horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the family drama “Prisoner’s Daughter” and the dramedy “The Beanie Bubble.”
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do the Twist! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the family friendly horror comedy “Haunted Mansion,” the family drama “Prisoner’s Daughter” and the dramedy “The Beanie Bubble.”
“Prisoner’s Daughter,” a new drama starring Kate Beckinsale and Brian Cox, and now on VOD, is a story of a father, a daughter and second chances.
When we first meet one-time Las Vegas showgirl Maxine (Beckinsale) she is a broke single mom, with a deadbeat ex-husband named Tyler (Tyson Ritter) and Ezra (Christopher Convery), her sweet-natured teenage son. Despite never having paid alimony, Tyler, an abusive addict, wants more control over Ezra’s life. Ezra, meanwhile, is bullied at school, and in need of epilepsy medication Maxine can barely afford.
Maxine’s father Max (Cox) has, by his own admission, been in jail “more times than I care to remember,” but has left his violent ways in the past. “I’m not that guy anymore.”
Max is about to be released from prison on compassionate grounds, after a twelve-year stretch. Diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, he will be discharged if, and only if, he lives with Maxine and Ezra in their small home.
Maxine, still stung by her father’s abandonment years ago, reluctantly agrees but on one condition. “You pay me rent,” she says. “You’re a tenant, that’s it.” She wants nothing to do with her dad. For her, this is a business deal that will help her pay mounting bills.
As Max settles in, he putters around the place, doing some long-needed repairs, teaching Ezra how to handle himself on the playground and calling in favors from his shady friends. With just months left to live, he is searching for reconciliation and redemption. “I know none of this will make up for who I was, or what I did,” he says to Maxine, “but let me be your father for once.”
“Prisoner’s Daughter” has many predictable elements as the ex-con father and his extended family find a new way to be a family, but Hardwicke’s delicate world building, as she presents the stark realities of Maxine’s life, and her efforts to atone for the mistakes of her past and point Ezra on the right track, bring great humanity to the tale.
Audiences expecting Cox to reprise his “Succession” role may be disappointed. Cox does let the old bull run free, bringing an air of menace to Max, but here the performance is tempered by tenderness. He’s a man plagued with regret, trying to unravel the tangled knots in his relationship with Maxine. The connection he builds with Ezra, even when he is teaching the youngster how to fight, is also shrouded in warmth.
Max is tough, but Maxine has a different kind of resolve. Beckinsale gives the character a backstory, a history of abuse that has toughened Maxine, and given her a sense of determination to survive at all costs. She does so with a steely brand of humor, and a great deal of sincerity.
It is the two lead characters, and the attention paid to the little details that form their relationship, that give “Prisoner’s Daughter” its gruff charm. The story is, more or less, predictable, and its anti-violence message is thwarted by a third reel punch-up, but despite the story misfires, it remains a compelling, if somewhat misguided, portrait of redemption.
It’s a movie that wonders if there are best before dates on amends, or if blood is truly thicker than water. Not a game changer story wise, but strong performances and interesting filmmaking earn it a recommend.