''The Michelle Apartments'' is a 1995 Canadian

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

film directed by

John Pozer John Pozer is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. He has had two independent films chosen for the Cannes International Film Festival and has directed a number of live action and animated television episodes. Biography P ...

and written by Ross Weber. The film stars

Henry Czerny Henry Czerny ( ; born February 8, 1959) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' The Boys of St. Vincent'', ''Clear and Present Danger'', '' The Ice Storm'', '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'', '' Fid ...

as Alex Hartwell, a government

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

sent to the small town of Walton to review the books of a chemical company. When his hotel room is mistakenly given to another client, he is forced to take a room in the Michelle Apartments, where he is drawn into a romantic attraction to his neighbour Madeline ( Mary Beth Rubens), whose husband Dean (

Daniel Kash Daniel Joshua Kash (born April 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor and film director. He is known for his appearances in films such as '' Aliens'', '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and ''The Path to 9/11'', and in television series such as ''Law & Ord ...

) is in prison. When Dean is released and comes home to find Madeline and Alex kissing, events spiral into a murderous chaos. The cast also includes

Peter Outerbridge Peter Outerbridge (born June 30, 1966) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Ari Tasarov in the The CW, CW action series ''Nikita (TV series), Nikita'', Dr. David Sandström in the The Movie Network, TMN series ''ReGenesis'', Henrik "Han ...

, Nancy Beatty and

Maria Vacratsis Maria Vacratsis (born July 28, 1955) is a Canadian actress. She has been featured in several Canadian television series, including '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'', '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'', '' Tactical Girls'', and '' Rent-a-Goalie''. I ...

. The film premiered at the

1995 Toronto International Film Festival The 20th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 7 and September 16, 1995. '' The Confessional'' by Robert Lepage was selected as the opening film and '' Devil in a Blue Dress'' by Carl F ...

Critical response

For ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', Rick Groen called the film a northern gothic spin on ''

Something Wild Something Wild may refer to: Film and TV * ''Something Wild'' (1961 film), a drama starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker * ''Something Wild'' (1986 film), a comedy-thriller starring Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, and Ray Liotta * "Something ...

'', and wrote that "the menace pulls up considerably short of skin-crawling suspense, while the sex lacks any real steam (unless you count a mild flirtation in the laundry room). These gaps may well be deliberate - Pozer's idea of comic dissonance - but the yuks just aren't there." Jay Stone of the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'' lambasted the film, writing that "This is independent cinema at its worst: self-indulgent, incompetent, charmless, empty. Needless to say, taxpayers helped fund it through the Ontario Film Development Corp. and

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Canadian Crown corporation that supports Canada's audiovisual industry. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm Canada provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in Vancouver, British Colu ...

. If this is the best we can do, maybe it's time to pull the plug and let

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

take over altogether." Brendan Kelly of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said the film "covers '

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'-like turf but just doesn't have enough comic smarts". Peter Birnie of the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' reviewed the film more favourably, writing that "The Michelle Apartments is unnecessarily busy, especially in cafe scenes cute enough to bounce into a Bounty ad, but there's still strong impetus to Pozer's strange vision.

Lynne Stopkewich Lynne Stopkewich (born 1964) is a Canadian film director. She attracted attention for her feature film directorial debut '' Kissed'' (1996). Life and career In 1987, Stopkewich obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in film studies from Conco ...

designs a town of

Orwellian ''Orwellian'' is an adjective which is used to describe a situation, an idea, or a societal condition that 20th-century author George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and ...

disproportions, Peter Wunstorf photographs it all in shades of gaudy menace and

Mark Korven Mark Korven is a Canadian musician and composer for film and television. Life and career During his early career in Winnipeg, Korven performed in a variety of rock and jazz music ensembles, mostly playing the guitar and singing in local bars. I ...

's music makes this address arch enough to be fun."

Awards

The film received two

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nominations at the

16th Genie Awards The 16th Genie Awards were held on January 14, 1996, to honour films released in 1995."Two films divide Genie spoils". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 15, 1996. The ceremony took place in Montreal at Société Radio-Canada's Studio 42. For the f ...

, for Best Sound Editing (Paul Shikata, Tim Roberts, Andy Malcolm, Paul Germann, Steven Munro) and Best Original Score (Korven).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michelle Apartments, The 1995 films 1995 black comedy films 1990s Canadian films 1990s English-language films Alliance Films films Canadian black comedy films English-language Canadian films Films directed by John Pozer Films scored by Mark Korven English-language black comedy films