''The Other Half'' is a 2016 Canadian romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

, written and directed by

Joey Klein Joey Klein is a Canadian actor and film director. He is most noted for his performance in the 2016 film '' We're Still Together'', for which he won the ACTRA Award for Best Actor from the ACTRA Awards chapter in Toronto and received a Prix Iris no ...

. It stars

Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science-fiction thriller television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy ...

, Tom Cullen,

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 ...

, and Suzanne Clément. The film had its world premiere at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

on 12 March 2016.

Premise

A bipolar woman and grief-stricken man struggle to live a simple life.

Cast

as Emily * Tom Cullen as Nickie *

as Jacob * Suzanne Clément as Marie *

Mark Rendall Mark Rendall (born October 21, 1988) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor whose roles include the lead in the 2004 film, '' Childstar'' and Mick in season 1 of the Canadian television drama series ''ReGenesis''. He played Bastian Bux i ...

as Sammy * Diana Bentley as Kristin *

Deragh Campbell Deragh Campbell (born May 4, 1989) is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her performances in Independent film, independent Cinema of Canada, Canadian cinema. Her collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz''—Veslemøy's Song' ...

as Anna *

Nancy Palk Nancy Palk (born 1956) is a Canadian actress,Anne Nothof"Palk, Nancy". ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', July 16, 2021. most noted as one of the founding members of the Soulpepper theatre company.Keith Garebian"Soulpepper Theatre". ''The Canadi ...

as Katherine * Kaleb Alexander as Johnny * Zachary Hillard-Forde as Tommy *

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born Christmas, December 25, 1986) is a Black Canadians, Canadian actor and film producer. Born and raised in Zaire, now present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo Immigration, immigrated to Canada and began his actin ...

as Officer James

Production

In July 2015, it was revealed that Joey Klein would write and direct the film, with

, Tom Cullen, Suzanne Clément, Deragh Campbell, and

starring in the film.

Release

The film had its world premiere at

on 12 March 2016.

Mongrel Media Mongrel Media is an independent Canadian film distribution company established in 1994 by Hussain Amarshi. It is the exclusive Canadian theatrical distributor for Sony Pictures Classics, and a selection of smaller titles from Neon, A24, Amazon S ...

distributed the film in Canada, releasing it on 2 December 2016.

Reception

The film received mostly positive critical reviews. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said that the film is "a granular depiction of trauma, illness and protectiveness disguised as a love story and guided by a pair of intense portrayals", and that, "as it plays out, it’s only a hard road for these swept-up, damaged lovers, whom Klein and his actors treat with blessedly non-exploitative honesty." ''

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), ...

'' wrote, "What might have seemed pro forma on paper overcomes its occasionally studied stylistic tics to become a troubled, anguished love story that neither exaggerates nor soft-pedals the demons on display." The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' praised Klein, saying that he "creates a mood of tension, foreboding and sombre reflection through occasional moments of slo-mo and camera work that blurs reality. His literate script offers no easy resolution, only the faint hope that love can rescue two lost souls."

References

External links

* *
The Other Half
' at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Other Half, The (2016 film) 2016 films English-language Canadian films Canadian romantic drama films Films directed by Joey Klein 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films