October Gale

Directed by Ruba Nadda

Canada, 2014 (fiction, 91 minutes, colour, English)

Image: © Photon Films

Film Description:
"Toronto doctor Helen Matthews (Patricia Clarkson [...]), mourning the death of her husband (Callum Keith Rennie), retreats to the isolated island cabin where they'd spent some of their most loving moments together. Her reminiscences are cut short when a mysterious man, Will (Scott Speedman), washes ashore, bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. She tends to his injuries; he refuses to explain what happened. But when a nasty storm traps them on the island, and Will's would-be killer returns to finish the job, Helen and Will's ability to trust each other becomes a matter of survival."
-- Agata Smoluch del Sorbo (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by:	Ruba Nadda
Produced by:	Daniel Iron, Kirk D'Amico, Christine Vachon, Emily Alden, Lance Samuels, Steven Silver, Neil Tabatznik
Principal Cast:	Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman, Tim Roth, Callum Keith Rennie
Cinematography:	Jeremy Benning
Film Editing:	Wiebke von Carolsfeld
Music:	Mischa Chillak
Production Company:	Blue Ice Pictures

(sources)

Notes about October Gale

Shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014.

(sources)

Quote by the Director

"So often you see movies where women only get through challenges with the help of a man. [In October Gale] it was important for me to depict a woman pulling through herself, independently."
-- Ruba Nadda (source)

Quotes about October Gale

"Having to genuinely fight the elements every day I think gave the film [October Gale] a vibrancy, another layer of truth. We were really battling unexpected elements. But we had these beautiful storms, and our breath, when it should have been warmer, and the muck and the mud and we just had to use it, everything that land and air threw at us."
-- Patricia Clarkson (source)

"It [October Gale] has a thriller aspect, but I like to think of it as a thinking man or woman's thriller. That's the backdrop, but the overriding theme is loss. How do you survive a catastrophic loss? How do you move on from loss? Can you find new love, or new joy, in something unexpected?"
-- Patricia Clarkson (source)

"The performances in October Gale subvert genre expectations: [Patricia] Clarkson displays toughness and resolve without turning into Liam Neeson, and the distressed [Scott] Speedman is as vulnerable as he is determined. When Tim Roth arrives (in his full Rothness) to finish off Speedman, his malevolence is cut with a paternal solicitude. As in Cairo Time, writer and director [Ruba] Nadda uses location and score to great effect. Cinematographer Jeremy Benning highlights the blues and grays of the frigid lake and overcast sky, and aerial shots of Helen's boat amid rugged granite islands emphasize her isolation. There's an Old Hollywood romanticism to Mischa Chillak's music, underscoring the noirish elements in Nadda's subdued and intimate thriller, where regret is as deadly as a firearm."
-- Serena Donadoni (source)

"[Patricia] Clarkson is eminently watchable as the emotionally wounded but resolute Helen, and [Scott] Speedman injects enough vulnerability into his character that we truly care about what happens to him, even if others in the film [October Gale] seem to feel he deserves it. Their strong performances carry the viewer over any narrative bald patches to a sudden and yet satisfying conclusion."
-- Chris Knight (source)

Bibliography for October Gale

Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites

Dargis, Manohla. "Review: 'October Gale' Stars Patricia Clarkson." Review of October Gale. New York Times, March 6, 2015.
Donadoni, Serena. "October Gale is a character-driven thriller." Review of October Gale. The Village Voice, March 4, 2015.
Harvey, Dennis. "'October Gale'; Patricia Clarkson reunites with 'Cairo Time' helmer Ruba Nadda for a tepid, underdeveloped thriller." Review of October Gale. Daily Variety, September 13, 2014.
Knight, Chris. "A perfect storm of coincidence; Grieving widow at a remote cottage has disturbing encounters with men." Review of October Gale. Montreal Gazette, March 27, 2015.
Ouzounian, Richard. "Weathering the craft of acting; Actress needed to build up her physical strength and tap into her inner rage to film October Gale." Interview with Patricia Clarkson. Toronto Star, March 28, 2015.
Patch, Nick. "Patricia Clarkson, Ruba Nadda endure 'October Gale' shoot." Interview with Ruba Nadda, Patricia Clarkson. Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, N.B.), March 25, 2015.
Schneller, Johanna. "Cast of October Gale pulls no punches." Interview with Ruba Nadda, Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman. Globe and Mail, April 3, 2015.
Tucker, Rebecca. "A new age; Patricia Clarkson finds a collaborator who finally recognizes the power of middle-aged women." Interview with Patricia Clarkson. National Post, March 26, 2015.
Wheeler, Brad. "October Gale: Canadian thriller builds up to nothing much." Review of October Gale. Globe and Mail, March 27, 2015.
Wheeler, Brad. "Q&A: Patricia Clarkson on her Canadian-made movie, filming in Georgian Bay and her hunky co-star." Interview with Patricia Clarkson. Globe and Mail, March 27, 2015.