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A Small Fortune
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Wikipedia article
'A Small Fortune' is a Canadian crime drama film, directed by Adam Perry and released in 2021.Chris Knight, [https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/film-review-a-small-fortune "Film review: A Small Fortune"]. 'National Post', April 1, 2022. The film stars Stephen Oates as Kevin Doucette, a man living in a small village in Prince Edward Island 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, [https://www.original-cin.ca/posts/2022/3/18/a-small-fortune-go-on-take-the-money-and-dont-run-and-see-what-happens "A Small Fortune: Go On, Take the Money and Dont Run and See What Happens"]. 'Original Cin', March 18, 2022.
The cast also includes Matt Cooke and Andrea Bang 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.Tony Davis, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-film-small-fortune-1.5084787 "P.E.I. filmmaker gets the green light for feature-length thriller"]. CBC News Prince Edward Island, April 4, 2019.
The film premiered at the FIN Atlantic Film Festival in September 2021,Stephen Cooke, [https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/fin-atlantic-international-film-fest-announces-in-person-online-lineup-100627274/ "FIN Atlantic International Film Fest announces in-person, online lineup"]. 'SaltWire Network', August 25, 2021. and was screened at the Charlottetown Film Festival in October.[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/community/charlottetown-film-festival-2021-1.6215044 "Charlottetown Film Festival celebrates films from and about Atlantic Canada"]. CBC News, October 18, 2021. It was subsequently screened at the 2022 Manchester Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Screenplay,Dave Stewart, [https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/pei-made-film-a-small-fortune-wins-international-award-100711927/ "P.E.I.-made film A Small Fortune wins international award"]. 'SaltWire Network', March 29, 2022. and at the 2022 Canadian Film Festival,Peter Howell, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2022/03/17/the-2022-canadian-film-fest-begins-streaming-march-22-on-super-channel.html "The 2022 Canadian Film Fest begins streaming March 22 on Super Channel"]. 'Toronto Star', March 17, 2022. before going into commercial release in April 2022.
Critical response
Chris Knight of Postmedia 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'. But its no copycat. This is a tightly written, expertly shot and well crafted story. It hails from the nations tiniest province, but its no small potatoes."
Jennie Punter of 'Original Cin' rated the film a B, and compared it more to Sam Raimi'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, Perrys 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 weve already seen how this story tends to play out. And theres just not quite enough hereCanadian or otherwiseto keep us engaged forever."Daniel Reynolds, [https://brieftake.com/a-small-fortune-review/ "A Small Fortune Review"]. 'Brief Take', March 20, 2022.
References
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