
Jaime lights up in scenes with her non-religious friend Nathan (Hasani Freeman), who loosens her up with his naturally playful manner. The performances range in believability and appeal, though the actresses share enough chemistry for the earnest teen romance to translate. In tone and subject matter, the film feels in line with its 1992 setting it may be faithful to a fault, but it’s an impressive craft achievement. A timely cut to green Jello cubes at dinner offers a breath of humor, and the sweeping coastlines and lush greenery are about as dramatic a backdrop one could hope for a grand love story. Though the beats of the narrative are fairly predictable and the dialogue verges on cliche, “You Can Live Forever” funnels the vast Canadian landscapes and specific period details into a cohesive visual language. Marike’s commitment to “the truth” never waivers, and her story ends where Jaime’s begins. The film understands that the real drama, the tragedy of a young person denying themselves love in the name of god, needs no embellishment. The punishment is not as severe as it could have been, and mercifully “You Can Live Forever” eschews some of the more extreme tropes of religious dramas. When a full-blown romance begins, it’s only a matter of time before someone catches on. Lured into a false sense of security and blinded by that first rush of hormones, they become more brazen.

Throughout multiple sleepovers, they cuddle and get closer, protected from suspicion under the cloak of religious naivete.


She invites Jaime over for dinner, where her family attempts to sway Jaime towards “the truth.” Though Jaime remains skeptical, her interest in Marike is stronger, and she even goes door-knocking as a way of spending more time with her. Marike is a true believer, and her religious fervor is only matched by her ardent desire to make Jaime her new best friend. Despite having to ditch her black sweatshirt and jeans for a dowdy floral dress, Jaime still catches the eye of Marike (June Laporte), the minister’s daughter. Though Beth appears loving and generally easygoing, she gently makes it clear that attending church, or “meeting,” is non-negotiable.

When Fiona goes to visit the boy, she discovers a bright, seductively romantic adolescent who instantly bonds with her over literature, music and intellectual curiosity.Set in 1990s Quebec, the film follows teenage loner Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll) who is sent to live with her Aunt Beth (Liane Balaban) and her husband Jean Francois, both devout Jehovah’s Witnesses, following her father’s death. That fact will come into even more high-stakes play when Fiona hears a case regarding a 17-year-old leukemia patient whose Jehovah’s Witness parents are refusing a blood transfusion that he probably will die without.
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As the movie opens, she’s delivering a Solomonic verdict regarding a pair of conjoined twins, reminding the parents and their lawyers that “this court is a court of law, not of morals.” Starring Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Fionn Whitehead Ben Chaplin directed by Richard Eyre 105 minutes R for a sexual reference.Įmma Thompson plays God with convincing aplomb in “The Children Act,” an adaptation of Ian McEwan’s 2014 novel that fairly bursts with ideas about right and wrong, head and heart, and sense and sensibility.Īs London judge Fiona Maye, Thompson is all crisp rationality and swift, no-nonsense alacrity.
