''A Small Fortune'' is a 2021 Canadian crime drama film, written and directed by Adam Perry.Chris Knight
"Film review: A Small Fortune"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', April 1, 2022. The film stars Stephen Oates as Kevin Doucette, a man living in a small village in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

who makes a subsistence living harvesting sea moss on the coast; resisting the urging of his wife Sam ( Liane Balaban) that he leave the province to look for more stable and well-paying work, one day he finds a large stash of money on the beach and hides it for himself, only to be drawn into danger when Troy ( Joel Thomas Hynes) arrives looking for it.Jennie Punter
"A Small Fortune: Go On, Take the Money and Don’t Run and See What Happens"
''Original Cin'', March 18, 2022. The cast also includes Matt Cooke and

Andrea Bang Andrea Bang is a Canadian actress and screenwriter from Burnaby, British Columbia. She is best known for playing Janet Kim in the CBC comedy '' Kim's Convenience'', for which she was nominated many times at the Canadian Screen Awards. She h ...

as police officers. The film, Perry's feature directorial debut, was an expansion of his earlier short film ''A Blessing from the Sea'', and received funding from Telefilm Canada in 2019. The film premiered at the FIN Atlantic Film Festival in September 2021, and was screened at the Charlottetown Film Festival in October. It was subsequently screened at the 2022 Manchester Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Screenplay, and at the 2022

Canadian Film Festival The Canadian Film Festival, formerly known as the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario. Showcasing a program of Canadian independent films, it is held in March of each year and usually runs for five day ...

, before going into commercial release in April 2022.

Critical response

Chris Knight of

Postmedia Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news ...

rated the film 3.5 stars out of five, writing that the film "carries with it appealing echoes of the Coen brothers’ classic ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, the ...

''. But it’s no copycat. This is a tightly written, expertly shot and well crafted story. It hails from the nation’s tiniest province, but it’s no small potatoes." Jennie Punter of ''Original Cin'' rated the film a B, and compared it more to

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007) and the '' Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present). He also directed the 1990 superhero film ''Darkman' ...

's 1998 film '' A Simple Plan''. She wrote that "The performances, storytelling, visuals, and music (original score by Andrew Staniland) are all excellent, coming together in what is both a labour of love and an impressive calling card for writer-director Adam Perry." Daniel Reynolds of ''Brief Take'' rated the film only 2.5 stars, writing that "Unfortunately for his cast of characters, Perry’s film drags on just a tad too long. ''A Small Fortune'' does achieve what it set out to do, and sure, it does land on some decent enough images (especially where the plastic money is concerned). But we’ve already seen how this story tends to play out. And there’s just not quite enough here—Canadian or otherwise—to keep us engaged forever."Daniel Reynolds
"A Small Fortune Review"
''Brief Take'', March 20, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Small Fortune, A 2021 films 2021 drama films Canadian crime drama films Films set in Prince Edward Island Films shot in Prince Edward Island 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films