I fell in love with Sandra Oh by watching her acting in Wilby Wonderful. As a result, I quickly bought some 15 hours of her movies. After watching through most of my newfound treasure and about six weeks later I am still not disappointed. She's the best... I liked the movie itself almost as much as I did Sandra Oh. It is refreshing to see movies out of the Hollywood stream and Canadian cinema is on the right track to find its way to a well deserved position on the International movie scene. Having lived in the States for about ten years it was refreshing to move to Canada for a short while and the life in Toronto seemed to be more cosmopolitan and therefore more human to me than anywhere in the United States. This particular difference in question reflects through this movie as well and I enjoyed watching it the second and a third time as well.

Saw it at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.The other reviewers have really done a good job giving various views of the plot, but what no one has mentioned yet is how well silence is used in this film, and this is something I love about this movie. As much is said with subtle body language and periods of silence as is said with words. Also, it seemed to me that a good deal of the dialogue had double-meanings, which makes for good mind candy.I would also say this is right on the border of being an art-film, but I wouldn't say it actually makes it into art-film territory.I loved it, will watch it again, and will probably buy the DVD, although it wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as I expected, and would recommend it to pretty much anyone who has ever enjoyed a quiet movie.

Maybe it is just that I am a Californian and not a Canadian, but as an outsider, I have often loved Canadian Film. This is a prime example of what many Canadians seem to do that most US directors do not: take time to tell a story, not be afraid to show the dark side of characters, and trust actors to so what they do best.I saw this film at OUTFEST, and was moved by a gay film that puts homosexuality in context: all the main characters of this film seek love and validation. All do it in different ways. All feel that they have been untrue to themselves, somehow, in this search for love. All seem to feel somehow thwarted by their past (or maybe, in the case of Sandra Oh's character, the most recent past), as well, in this hunt. The struggle of gay people to receive respect AND the love they deserve has been placed squarely into a larger context (we all have this same struggle for identity and validation); and I love this aspect of the film.The film revolves around a few main characters: the man who comically tries to kill himself over and over, only to be interrupted at the most (in)opportune times; the painter who stalks him throughout the film, but who may also be his only chance at love; the real estate agent and her cop husband whose ideals have somehow drifted apart; and a hometown girl who has recently returned to town with her adolescent (and sexually coveted daughter, perhaps returning because of her sexual antics everywhere else they have lived. While each of these characters is certainly a "type," and has their moment of stereotypical comic relief, I was impressed at how director Daniel MacIvor showed the roots in reality for each stereotype, and allowed each Jungian type to have depth and a moment that ran against expectation.The cast, as well, was fabulous. Sandra Oh is amazing at playing a together woman with another side. Rebecca Jenkins showed real sorrow beneath smuttiness. Even the actors playing the gay characters had moments of real transcendence, even though the suffering man in the closet and the lonely man chasing him theme has been played out before.People walked out of this screening, so the film is obviously not for everyone. For me, however, it was a true tribute to the underlying humanity that brings messed up people together for the highest good.

The best thing this has going for it is the mood. The quiet evocation of a small island/town is pretty much dead on, with the slightly shabby businesses, people with small-scale ambitions, and hidden strings connecting everyone and everything. There are also some excellent performances, especially Sandra Oh, Rebecca Jenkins, and Callum Keith Rennie (for once showing his awkward, charming side rather than playing another psychopath).There's both too much and too little going on, if that's possible. The various plot threads wander around before finally getting to what turns out to be the main plot. By that time, there have been a few too many scenes of people walking around while the soundtrack music plays. Some of the characters take too long to register, as well. The one who might be the most important, Dan Jarvis (the suicidal, soon-to-be-outed video store owner), never really registers at all--he never amounts to much of anything besides vague melancholy.I don't blame the actors, really.....the ones we don't know well enough simply haven't had enough dialogue to let us know them. Fewer subplots and a little less wistful scenery montage would have helped the through-line considerably.Put most simply, this has too much atmosphere to be a Plot Film and too much plot to be an Atmosphere Film. Not that it would ever have a chance to happen, but I think Wilby would have worked much better as a series.