Still the Water (2020) User Reviews

PEI is beautifully featured in this drama

[jmacd-3 · 6/10 · 5 June 2021]

This is a gorgeous movie, and the PEI locations create wonderful atmosphere, and it's worth watching just for this. The cast give worthy performances, too.

The soundtrack is solid too, although I found the use of songs somewhat distracting - I am not sure if it's because the lyrics were taking me out of the moment, or if the tempos didn't jive with what my brain was expecting. It may highlight an underlying concern with the structure of the film.

I enjoyed watching this, so I don't want this criticism to come off too harshly. There is a big story here with lots of backstory, and a bunch of characters that are important in it - so there are lots of ways this story could be told, and from a variety of perspectives. But the way this story is structured didn't help my empathize with the characters perhaps as much as it should have, as I felt oddly detached from everyone in the family right up to the conclusion.

The scenario is setup quickly for us, and very early on the family is reunited. We quickly learn that something in their past has driven a wedge between them, but what and why is revealed very slowly to the audience. VERY slowly. Which means that we have a lot of angst-filled character exchanges and we, the audience, are confused bystanders unable to relate to what is motivating the characters interactions with one another.

I feel the scene structure probably would have worked better for a novel, where we have access to more of the internal narrative.

So while it's not a story problem necessarily, it dilutes in the effectiveness in my opinion. Pretty much everything we need to understand is eventually revealed, but I don't think the finale was as cathartic as the soundtrack makes me feel they were shooting for.

I am not a hockey afficionado, and the hockey scenes worked adequately for me. I see that serious hockey fans are being quite critical here - I think that is unjustified. This isn't a movie about hockey any more than it is a movie about fishing. This is a drama about a family with a troubled past, and one of them happened to be a hockey player, which provides the character with the necessary local notoriety required for the story.

A nice effort, and I would suggest it is well worth watching for the performances, and for those that just love to see PEI on screen. I would love to see more movies like this.

Didn't Cross the Finish Line

[zorroaca · 4/10 · 4 June 2021]

Good photography and music... too much of a story to pack into an hour and a half. Acting was not bad considering the characters were underdeveloped ... which in turn made everything disjointed. Would have make a good series with flashbacks playing a heavy part. The ending thrown together here... was rather silly and unfulfilling.

Still the Water

[mnpogy · 4/10 · 12 July 2021]

I've decided to watch it because I live on PEI. This is a first movie for Susan Rogers, and I hope the second one will be better. As other people said, it is not easy to get what is going on, too many unnecessary accents with other things missing. On positive note - beautiful views, lovely music.

POTATO PUCKS

[js-66130 · 3/10 · 1 June 2021]

P. E. I.. Family trauma. Adultery. Folk music. Hockey. Did I mention P. E. I.?

Jordie is a hulking, awkward hockey player returning home as somewhat of a local legend with what appears to be a tail between his legs. There is a mysterious dark past, and plenty of tension, amplified by the crowded circumstance. Small town? Howsabout small island? There is no escaping the past. Many will require nothing more. This is your wheelhouse. Good for you. Sadly, for those willing to remove rose coloured islander glasses, this is not a great viewing experience.

Stark realism is great if it ain't clunky, and damn, this is clunky. Unspoken secrets only work if some loose lips let slip, otherwise there is but conjecture and eventually, ambivalence. When sibling matters come to a lobster boil, the drama is pretty anti-climactic. A fishing boat scene, which should be life and death serious, plays embarrassingly tepid. The brothers do come to inevitable blows, and it is on the ice (get it: "Still the Water"), but they are on the same team. Yes the same team. Needless to say, any hockey aficionado will have a problem or twelve with the shinny sequences. The footage is akin to a beer league scenario, not from supposed Memorial Cup skaters. This is John Candy as Darryl Sittler silly, except it ain't played for laughs. Who throws down their stick (several times, this is Jordy's go to move) when mad? No one. No one does. The stilted and perplexing road hockey scenes on bumpy dirt roads are excruciatingly awful. Was there not a hockey player available as consultant? Maybe a seven year old with a rudimentary knowledge of the sport? C'mon!

As a wrinkled cherry on a collapsing cake, the big finale happens at centre ice in a darkened, empty arena, because that is where everyone hangs out when they look for redemption. Sports clichés are back baby!

Is the film this bad? Perhaps not. The music is fine. The scenery lovely. It does capture that odd islander vibe. Perhaps anyone not privy to the nuances of hockey will squeeze some sort of entertainment from this picture. Stranger things have happened.

• hipCRANK.

Two stars because it LOOKED good

[cjmessing · 2/10 · 6 September 2021]

This movie was a frustrating watch. Everyone is angry at one another from the start and you don't know as we the audience slowly and painfully gets answers which never seems to justify why everyone feels the way they feel. The acting is poor around. The hockey scenes are so poorly done I sort of wish they were left out altogether.

On the bright side, the movie looks great.

Still The Water

[mdwmckay · 9/10 · 3 January 2021]

If you're looking for a movie with passion, grit, drama and a little bit of suspense, "Still the Water" is your movie. What a relatable storyline, unravelling the heaviness of family adversities, to be reunited and face the truth years later. While we see the pain resentment holds, we also see the strength in trying to make amends and the freedom truth grants. "Still the Water" is a true testimony of the power of love and family when it is all said and done. A very real and relatable movie, pulling all heart strings. On the other hand, let us highlight the character role of Nicki played by Colin Price. Wow! Passion, integrity and emotions personified. Every single scene and line spoken was felt in my bones. There is no better expression of communication from a character, when the audience can feel the ripple effect of emotions from the scene. Colin is a very versatile character throughout the film and captures the true essence of what it means to perform. Colin is a force to be reckoned with! Overall, great film!

Beautiful and poignant

[sixtymedia · 8/10 · 27 June 2022]

This is exactly what an 'indie' film should be. Beautiful photography, incredible location, deep and emotional writing and understated performances.

There's a lot of talent on view here.

Highly recommended.

Excellent

[sjanders-86430 · 10/10 · 1 August 2021]

Hockey player returns to hometown to reconnect with his two brothers and old dad. Prince Edward Island is the beautiful location. Susan Rodgers directed. The score is guitars and folk lyrics. The mom died by the father's rage. The boys remember how they had to hide from their dad. He was a violent drunk. A singer girl from their Highschool days lives next to one brother who is in love with her. She says she had a son. He died? She's part of their family. A younger brother has a wife whose pregnant. The town embraces the returning son.

I always feel good after a Canadian film.

Compelling indie drama

[lbarker08 · 10/10 · 21 July 2023]

Still the Water, a Canadian independent film written and directed by Susan Rodgers, is a really compelling drama that weaves together a number of storylines: family conflict, sports, romance/lost love, regret, and so many more topics.

I really appreciate the music, all of the parts of the score fit the movie very well. The actors really drove the movie forward and kept the story moving.

I also really loved the scenery and cinematography, showing the sweeping shots of the small town as the characters move through it, almost making the town its own character in the film.

Really well done! Check this one out!

Weak story, but great acting

[videogamenews · 9/10 · 1 April 2022]

Still the Water offers nothing new in its premise: another homecoming story with a down on his luck protagonist seeking help from family and friends.

On the plus side, the actors' performance makes it compelling and keeps you interested because you never know what happened years before that made them hate each other. When it's finally revealed, it's kind of a let down because many films work around the same subject.

But it's worth watching all the same for Ry Barret's excellent performance as the protagonist: a failed athlete that goes beyond stereotypes showing emotion instead of brute force (even if his appearance makes you think otherwise at first).

Also, the environments and cinematography in general are excellent, almost another character in itself.

Still the Water is highly reccomended to movie fans who seek drama, emotion and actors who really feel like human beings on screen.

well done

[ckraith · 9/10 · 10 July 2021]

Interesting characters, beautiful setting, well written.