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New Century of Cinema
DOWSE Guide to the
Movies
by Tony Lee editor of
Pigasus
Press
Felicia's Journey
Director: Atom Egoyan
111 minutes (12) Icon DVD Region 2
review by Gary Couzens
Felicia (Elaine Cassidy) is a young Irish girl who arrives in Birmingham to look for
her boyfriend, by whom she is pregnant. She meets Mr Hilditch (Bob Hoskins), a lonely
eccentric catering manager who is not what he first appears...
Based on William Trevor's novel, Felicia's Journey is a slow burning,
though stylishly made psychological thriller. If director Egoyan's earlier films tended
towards the cerebral and cold, from Exotica onwards he has moved towards
retaining his distinctive style (notably his use of time-sequence and video inserts)
while engaging a wider audience. Felicia's Journey isn't on the same level as
The Sweet Hereafter, which was simply one of the best films of the last few
years, but it's no disgrace as a follow-up and well worth a look. Egoyan makes good use
of Birmingham locations - it shows how little used the place is as a film location,
compared to other British cities. The Irish scenes are more familiar, though still well
done. Bob Hoskins is not good casting as a Brummie, though he does a good job as the
kindly bachelor with a dark side. Elaine Cassidy conveys Felicia's combination of
naïveté and determination, and Arsinée Khanjian (the director's wife and
frequent leading lady) has an amusing role as Hilditch's mother, a professionally
French TV chef.
The DVD has a Dolby Surround soundtrack and a director's commentary, but
that's it - no trailer, and the lack of English subtitles is regrettable. Also, the
film, shot in widescreen 2.35:1, is panned and scanned. Why? It's clear that it's
framed so that it can be cropped for a full-frame TV showing, but that's hardly the
point.
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