CANADIAN DREAMS

Article by NICHOLAS TANGBORN
Published in THE MINNESOTA DAILY
March 29, 1991

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As a film critic, the urge to instantly discuss a movie upon leaving a theater is almost inescapable.  But every once in a while, a film arrives that is so affecting and good-hearted, it seems better to leave the intellectualizing for another day, and just soak it in.  Perfectly Normal is one of those films.

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Made in Canada, Normal tells the tale of Renzo Parachi (first-timer Michael Riley), a quiet, dignified employee of the Tate Brewery, whose life is interrupted by the intrusion of Alonzo Turner (Robbie Turner).  Turner is a grandiose con man, dedicated to satisfying his own dreams, with little real thought about the consequences. And when they stumble on an inheritance, Renzo is hard pressed to decide whether to build a home (a lifelong dream) or help open Turner's fantasy restaurant.

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Normal is an expressive, moving film about realizing dreams. Co-writers Eugene Lipinski, who also has a role in the film, and Paul Quarrington have created realistic, off-beat characters. These are brewery workers who dilute their violent passion for playing hockey with literary interests, strangely emotional responses to opera, and a surprising degree of tenderness. Even the brewery supervisor/hockey coach, portrayed by Kenneth Walsh (The Freshman, The January Man), leavens his hormonal and scatological diatribes with references to Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle. But the characterizations aren't forced, thanks to an able team of actors and a witty, albeit slightly self-indulgent, script.

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Riley's portrayal of Renzo is perfect, and for a first-timer, he seems remarkably self-assured. His dazed expression and porcupine haircut fit the part well, and he has the right mixture of sluggish self-endurance and lonely vulnerability. Coltrane's (Henry V, Nuns on the Run) Turner is right-on, boorish yet intelligent, bullish yet soft-hearted. Renzo's brewery buddy, Jack Nichols, played by another rookie, Jack Nichols, could easily have been a shallow, adolescent punk, but the film allows him to be caring and humane.

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It's the approach Simoneau and director of photography Alain Dostie take toward the characters that makes the film so likeable. These brewery workers deserve more than a cursory glance in the film's world, each of them full of heart and will. The brewery team's hockey arena (Renzo is the team's goalie) is given a sort of literary grace by Dostie's fluid camera work, guided in its flowing course by a mostly classical and operatic score. The camera swoops and spins with the puck, steady-cam stable, circling Renzo in beautifully composed shots.

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The camera work often lacks restraint, and could easily have overshadowed the character-oriented focus of the film, but Simoneau tries to reserve the more self-indulgent camera movement for the beginning and end of the film. The opening sequence, however, with Renzo's mother committing suicide while he plays hockey, is visually staggering - not in a visceral, graphic sense, but for the way Simoneau and Dostie control the camera as it glides effortlessly from space to space. It immediately commands attention.

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Once Perfectly Normal settles into gear, it's a solidly paced, undemanding film that is inspirational without the shallow vapidity of other dream-oriented flicks like Field of Dreams. Perfectly Normal keeps its feet on the ground, rarely succumbing to cheapness or easy answers. It's a picture that's full of heart