MovieChat Forums > Living with the Enemy (2005) Discussion > How did I know this was a Canadian film?

How did I know this was a Canadian film?

posted 13 years ago by Major_Movie_Star
1 reply | jump to latest

How did I know this was a Canadian film? Mainly because of its sheer awfulness. There are so many other clues, such as the extremely buttoned-down stiffness and formality of so many of the characters (the Phillip Lauder character, for instance, has dinner with his wife after a hard day's work while still wearing suit and tie! Do Canadians really do that?!)

But more especially, there is the sheer bizarreness of parts of the plot. For instance, the FBI pull Mrs Lauder off the street to threaten her with dire consequences if she won't agree to help them arrest and convict her husband; this is done in a way that is detached from reality in such an extreme manner that it somehow reflects something that seems to come out of the Canadian psyche in a way that is not only recognizable, but uniquely so (why, for example, would Mrs Lauder not immediately go get herself some good legal advice? Any good lawyer would soon set her straight!)

Personally, there is a quality of madness--a kind of up-tight paranoia--that I think it is all due to the overly long and harsh winters in that otherwise wonderful country. Oh well!

[–] borg1005-1 12 years ago

I dunno, I continue to think the Canadians put out some pretty good actors/actresses. I've watched some movies and occasionally single out one performer because of their intensity/charisma/whatever and when I check them out, they're usually Canadian.

Even with these sometime so-so Lifetime movies made for TV, the vast majority turn our credible performances and their "lousy acting" is usually due to a lousy script.