This Beautiful City
This Beautiful City is a Canadian drama film directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007 and had a general theatrical release in 2008.
This Beautiful City | |
---|---|
Film poster | |
Directed by | Ed Gass-Donnelly |
Produced by | Ed Gass-Donnelly Lee Kim Aaron Poole David Krae Julie Sype |
Written by | Ed Gass-Donnelly |
Starring | Aaron Poole Kristin Booth Caroline Cave Noam Jenkins Stuart Hughes |
Cinematography | Micha Dahan |
Edited by | Ed Gass-Donnelly |
Distributed by | 20/40 Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
The film depicts the lives of five disparate characters in Downtown Toronto. Johnny (Aaron Poole) is a recovering crack cocaine addict trying to convince his prostitute girlfriend Pretty (Kristin Booth) to move with him to a new city so they can make a clean break from their old lives, while Harry (Noam Jenkins) and Carol (Caroline Cave) are a wealthy couple. Events are set in motion when Carol falls from the balcony of her condo in an apparent suicide attempt, landing just metres away from Johnny and Pretty in the alleyway below. She survives, but Peter (Stuart Hughes), a police detective, finds her and the group's lives begin to intertwine.
Cast
- Aaron Poole ... Johnny
- Kristin Booth ... Pretty
- Caroline Cave ... Carol
- Noam Jenkins ... Harry
- Stuart Hughes ... Peter
- Kat Germain ... Zoe
- Tony Nappo ... Crack
- Jefferson Mappin ... Phil
- Philip Akin ... Police Chief
- Christopher Cordell ... Green Jacket Jock
- Brian Frank ... Steve
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack includes songs by Bry Webb, Sunparlour Players, Buck 65, Jewish Legend and Sebastien Grainger, Andre Ethier, Shad, The Ghost Is Dancing, Emilie Mover and Dave MacKinnon.
Critical reception
The Hollywood Reporter said "The film is contrived but powerful. A mood of underlying dread gives each scene extra tension and its gritty portrait of how urban life at all levels can ground people down is striking."[1]
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for four Genies at the 29th Genie Awards, including Best Actor (Poole), Best Original Song (Bry Webb, "Big Smoke"), Best Sound and Best Sound Editing.
References
- Bennett, Ray (July 10, 2008). "This Beautiful City". The Hollywood Reporter.