Terrible Attempts at the Accent!!!
Irish brogues, Canadian accents, Scottish, Cockney, upper class British, American. What the hell... let's throw a pirate accent in for laughs.
These actors are all over the place.
I know this an old post, but I just saw it.
Whether or not the actors are all doing the accents well may be up for question (it's not an area of expertise for me, except with accents I've heard IRL). But the fact that there are many accents is appropriate.
The story takes place on Nova Scotia, which I don't think has one accent. There are people there, and would have been at the time the story is set, from many backgrounds.
I think that accents from Scotland, Ireland, England, France, other parts of Canada, etc. would all be possible.
True, but Capers also have their own unique accent, which none of the characters had.
Also, don't try to tell me that California looks anything like Cape Breton! Northern California looks nothing like Cape Breton.
I think you may be asking too much of actors to cultivate their best Cape Breton accent for a film. Let's get real. Very few would know it if they heard it.
Judging from accents in film in the '40's, most people couldn't tell accents apart or simply didn't care.
I totally agree with practicepiano--I thought they were all immigrants, based on their last names. After all, they mention how everyone is welcome there so long as they are accepting of their rules and ways of doing things.
However, your other point is right on--the distinctive topographies of Bodega Bay and Monterey/Carm el and nothing like the equally distinctive and beautiful topography of Nova Scotia. From the seconds those birds circled, squawking, I thought of how identical this setting was to that of The Birds! And sure enough, they even used the exact same farm and location just a few feet away... You could see Bodega Bay in lots of shots, and the village in Mendocino from Murder, She Wrote.
Nova Scotia has evergreen trees such as spruce, not cypress. And Eucalyptus trees would not last a single winter. A true error. Northern California's windblown coastline is distinctive for its lack of trees while Nova Scotia's trees are so dense they form a green carpet, even on tiny islands that dot the coast there. It's quite a mistake.