Sunfish: Closely Observed Characters Make for an Engaging Film
By Liz Braun
Rating: B
Four vaguely connected coming-of-age vignettes constitute Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), a charming film from writer-director Sierra Falconer.
Each of the stories unfolds on the shores of Green Lake, Michigan — an idyllic vacation area — and involve various members of the year-round community, as well as some visitors.
The first story, “Sunfish,” centres on Lu (Maren Heary), an adolescent dumped on her grandparents while her newly married mother (Lauren Sweetser) goes off on a honeymoon.
Lu doesn’t seem thrilled to be staying with her grandparents (Marceline Hugo and Adam LeFevre), but they are reliable and loving. That’s obviously a change from life with her self-centred mother.
With her grandfather’s guidance, Lou learns to sail his little sunfish, handling the sailboat with increasing confidence. Watching her take on the boat and the independence involved in sailing around the lake are a delight to observe.
Lu sails near the “rich kids” music school her grandparents told her about, and that introduces the second story. Gifted kids attend the camp at Interlochen Arts Academy, and Jun (Jim Kaplan) is now the focal point.
The young violinist is obsessed with becoming first chair, a lofty goal that seems to reflect his mother’s ambition more than his own. A brief moment of playful interaction in the water with his campmates reveals how little of childhood Jun seems to have experienced in his drive to be the best.
He is not the only character “baptized” in Green Lake.
The third story introduces Annie (Karsen Liotta), a single mom who works in a tough bar. Her evening shift begins with cleaning the toilets, and after that she tends bar, where she hears a local guy (Dominic Bogart) talk about the giant fish he intends to catch in Green Lake.
The fish, he claims, will be his legacy. Something about this quixotic undertaking appeals to Annie, who drops everything to help the guy, going so far as to help him steal a necessary harpoon. It’s a wild ride.
Finally, as summer draws to a close, two sisters on the lake prepare to part for the first time. Robin (Emily Hall) is leaving for the big city of Chicago and culinary school, and her little sister Blue Jay (Tenley Kellogg) will be left behind. Both sisters stand at the edge of major change but must endure a difficult separation to go forward.
Falconer allows viewers a glimpse into the ordinary lives of richly developed characters in Sunfish. The filmmaker presents their stories in an understated and unhurried fashion, showing lives led against a bittersweet, end-of-summer landscape that is tinged with nostalgia.
Sometimes a few terrific short stories are more desirable than a novel: discuss.
Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake). Written and directed by Sierra Falconer. Starring Maren Heary, Karsen Liotta, Jim Kaplan, Emily Hall, and Tenley Kellogg. In theatres now.