The Stone Angel (2007)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 23
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 14
Despite fine performances from Ellen Burstyn and newcomer Christine Horne, The Stone Angel fails to escape formulaic melodrama territory.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 7
Despite fine performances from Ellen Burstyn and newcomer Christine Horne, The Stone Angel fails to escape formulaic melodrama territory.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 2,962
My Rating
Movie Info
Director Kari Skogland takes the reins for a Buffalo Gals Pictures production starring Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn as author Margaret Laurence's much-lauded heroine Hagar Shipley. Hagar may by 90, but she not ready to lie down and die just yet. Her decisions stem straight from her heart, and that often alienates her family and friends. When Hagar's son, Marvin (Dylan Baker), takes his mother to look at a nursing home, she takes it as her cue to leave her family behind and set out on one
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Cast
-
Ellen Burstyn
Hagar Shipley -
Christine Horne
Younger Hagar -
Cole Hauser
Bram Shipley -
Ellen Page
Arlene Drieser -
Sheila McCarthy
Doris Shipley -
Kevin Zegers
John Shipley -
Dylan Baker
Marvin Shipley -
Samantha Weinstein
Child Hagar -
Luke Kirby
Leo -
Doreen Brownstone
Silver Elms Bridge Play... -
Ryland Thiessen
Child Telford -
Mackenzie Munro
Child Charlotte -
Connor Price
Child Matt -
Jordan Todosey
Child Lottie -
Ardith Boxall
Lottie's Mother -
Arne MacPherson
Doctor -
Ted Atherton
Reverend Troy -
R. Morgan Slade
Young Telford -
Hilary Carroll
Bank Teller -
Olie Alto
Bus Driver -
Aaron Ashmore
Matt -
Peter MacNeill
Jason Currie -
Joyce Krenz
Auntie Doll -
Jessica Burleson
Cell Phone Woman on Bus -
Evelyne Anderson
Old Cronie at Charity D... -
Sarah Constible
Young Lottie -
Alicia Johnston
Charlotte -
Chris Sigurdson
Pastor -
Blake Taylor
Manakawa Doctor -
Jason Spevack
Child Marvin -
David Gillies
Gardner at Park -
Noah Meade
Child John -
Landon Norris
Young John -
Trevor Chief
Train Boy #1 -
Cody Carver
Train Boy #2 -
Jean Paul Thomas
Train Boy #3 -
Devon Bostick
Teen Marvin -
Josette Halpert
Child Arlene -
Wayne Nicklas
Currie Store Manager Mr... -
Christopher Read
Currie Store Clerk -
Nada Abdel Shahid
Missy -
Frank Adamson
Mr. Oatley -
Wings Hauser
Older Bram -
Janet-Laine Green
Lottie -
Akalu Meekis
Lazarus -
Peter Jordan
Henry Pearl -
Ross McMillan
Telford -
Sharon Bajer
Emergency Room Nurse 19... -
Marcia Bennett
Nurse 2004 -
Leslie Stanwyck
Uilleann Pipe -
Eric Rigler
Cello -
Cameron Stone
Violin -
Daniel Koulack
acoustic bass -
Dave Lawton
Trumpet -
Daniel Roy
drums -
William Bonness
Piano -
Richard Moody
violin/viola -
Greg Lowe
guitar -
William Spornitz
saxophone
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All Critics (23) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (9) | Rotten (15) | DVD (2)
A tastefully reverent, fundamentally sincere treatment of Margaret Laurence's 1964 Manitoba-based novel, a staple for Canada's 12th graders.
Top CriticLeft me feeling respectfully indifferent, as if I'd been served a nutritious meal that was only fleetingly satisfying.
Despite a terrific lead performance by Ellen Burstyn, Kari Skogland's epic The Stone Angel is a lesson in the perils of trying to cram a hefty Canadian novel that spans decades into a movie running just under two hours.
Writer-director Kari Skogland adapts a beloved Canadian novel gracefully and with plenty of spunk, the same way its main character moves through the world from cradle to grave.
Although talented newcomer Christine Horne is ideal as the younger Hagar, letting Burstyn play the character at around 50, despite best-effort lighting, was not the wisest choice.
A film of tightly assembled bits and pieces that don't fit comfortably together despite clever dashes of magical realism connecting past and present.
Too much story, too little time
A perfectly respectable, solidly-made film which, beyond the expert performance by the always reliable Ellen Burstyn, has unfortunately little to recommend it.
The only way to enjoy Kari Skogland's epic portrait of a miserable 90-year- woman named Hagar (Ellen Burstyn) is to reframe it as Scary Movie for weepies.
Far less would have been much more, though the geriatric protagonist's salty sexual wit and impulse to share a joint with a passing stranger, spice up the often dreary chronological procession of family episodes.
Old lady on the road takes a memory trip, giving Burstyn a chance to shine.
It's not a great movie, but Burstyn fans shouldn't miss her subtle performance.
Overacted, underwritten, and with flashback cues so lazy the characters may as well just say, "I remember when...," the film feels like The Notebook II.
Events pass by in a muddled rush as the intimate character study of the page gives way to a hollowed-out on screen portrait.
A stubbornly affecting drama that's strongest in its quieter moments.
Audience Reviews for The Stone Angel
Super Reviewer
As a young woman(Christine Horne), Hagar wants to be a teacher but her wealthy father(Peter MacNeill) keeps her in town in a creepy arrangement to do the accounting and controls who she can see. That only works when he is at home and Hagar attends a dance while he is on the road, meeting the roguish Bram(Cole Hauser).
Despite a nice example of stunt casting and an excellent performance from Ellen Burstyn, "The Stone Angel" has more than a hint of "A Trip to Bountiful" but with a sluggish pace, going on far too long with a cliched revelation in a vain attempt to neatly fit together all of the pieces of Hagar's past. Even then, one fairly big question remains. And it is hard to reconcile the repressed middle-aged Hagar with the profane old Hagar. The movie should have been more focused on Hagar's present and issues surrounding senior citizens while giving a more fractured view of her past which would better simulate the fading state of her mind. In recalling the past, Hagar has a way of staying on the negative side of the equation. The lack of nostalgia is refreshing, separating romance from relationships. Since marriage is hard, it is best to be very, very sure of what you are doing.
Super Reviewer
-
- Hagar Shipley: She who talks to herself talks to a fool.
-
- Hagar Shipley: I would have to believe in him, in order to be angry with him.
-
- Hagar Shipley: Time unstuck for me now. I am rampant with memory for no reason except that I'm caught up in it.
-
- Doris Shipley: My, doesn't everything look green!
- Hagar Shipley: You were expecting purple?
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DIRECTED BY: Kari Skogland
SUMMARY: Rather than succumbing to life in a nursing home, feisty Hagar Shipley (Ellen Burstyn) goes on the run. As she struggles to keep her mind clear, Hagar relives passionate moments from early in her life and reflects on the many difficult experiences she's faced.
MY THOUGHTS: " This movie was sad, touching, and brillantly acted by all the characters. It's a storytelling movie and it really puts you in that place at that moment. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past. At the cottage house, she reminisces in flashbacks about all the relationships, loves, and experiences she's had in her long life. This movie is mainly about life and its about the ups-and-downs that we face, but overall, we conquer. Just a great film. Ellen Burstyn and Christine Home are the stars in this movie and out shine everyone else. But I believe their meant too. I guess the only disappointment in watching this movie is how small the roles Ellen Page and Kevin Zegers have in the film. But when they were on screen they were great. It's a good movie that might even draw a few tears from you. Its well worth the watch."