Shadows on the Wall | Park Avenue

Park Avenue

dir Gaby Dellal
prd Diana Phillips
scr Gaby Dellal, Tina Alexis Allen
with Fiona Shaw, Katherine Waterston, Chaske Spencer, Frederick Weller, Phylicia Rashad, Didi Conn, Timothy Hutton, Gabriella Baldacchino, Nelson Ascencio, Robert Lenzi, Allison McKay, Gino Cafarelli
release US Feb.25 sbiff,
UK 14.Nov.25
25/US 1h45

Is it streaming?

Anchored by yet another terrific performance from Fiona Shaw, this mother-daughter drama is packed with knowing details and complex characters. It feels a little out of reach, spinning its wheels in the middle section then never quite bringing everything together in the end. But along the way, the superb lead actors offer plenty to grab hold of, and director Gabby Dellal gives the film a visual and emotional kick.

Fleeing from a bad marriage, Charlotte (Waterston) drives from her ranch in the Canadian wilderness to the Manhattan apartment she where grew up with her imperious mother Kit (Shaw), who has just published a memoir. Because neither will express their true feelings, their relationship is badly strained. But they have moments of connection as they spend time together, and Charlotte's teen daughter Lily (Baldacchino) visits from boarding school. But Kit hasn't told Charlotte that she has terminal cancer. And the building's doorman Anders (Spencer), Charlotte's former and perhaps future boyfriend, is also keeping this secret.

Revealing information in dribs and drabs, the script is infuriatingly reluctant to fill in back-stories. This echoes how Charlotte and Kit speak to each other, but it undermines the storytelling by keeping key details from the audience. So when we finally learn the truth about Charlotte's father, her husband Hans (Weller) and a colourful family friend (Hutton), it doesn't seem as momentous as it should be. And interference from the ladies (including Rashad and Conn) on the building's board feels distracting.

Playing a still-vibrant diva, Shaw creates a whole world for Kit, with conflicting emotions that are just as messy as the faded glory in her grand Park Avenue apartment, or the unnecessary glamour of her shimmering wardrobe. This is nicely contrasted by Waterston, who gives Charlotte the same artistic flair and sense of humour, but she holds it more internally. In other words, these women are more alike than they know. And if the script was more subtle in mining this, the emotional kick would be stronger.

It's frustrating that Dellal and cowriter Allen attempt to find clear answers to this mother-daughter dysfunction in the somewhat fuzzy family history. These are complicated situations, grappling with immense themes that require a more nuanced touch. In explaining everything with past trauma, the film undermines the present-day issues that these women face. So while there's still plenty to keep us engaged, and to provoke us to think, the film never quite gets under the skin.

themes, language 23.Jul.25

R E A D E R R E V I E W S

Still waiting for your comments ... don't be shy.