Ryan McNeil
After three whole days of home runs, I found myself watching what was more of a single to the opposite field. This, of course is to be expected, since nobody out there falls deeply in love with every movie they see at these film festivals. This isn’t to say that APRON STRINGS wasn’t a good movie – far from it. It’s only to say that it was preceded by some very heavy hitters, and also carried a bit of higher expectations
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APRON STRINGS is all about family – specifically ones that have found the bonds of family ties frayed badly over time. On one side of the story, is Anita. Anita is on a Nigella-Lawson like rise to success with her cooking show. However, at home her life is a very different story. She is estranged from her sister – her only living relative – and her son has grown impatient in regards to the reasoning. He weaves together a few lies and in so doing, forces his family’s hand in dealing with their troubles.
The movie also looks at Lorna. She’s a baker with a humble shop, but at age sixty five, her children have started to become more of a burden than ever. Her son David is 35 and still living at home, struggling hard with a gambling problem, his life seems to be stuck in neutral. Her daughter Virgina has moved forward with her life, but she always seems to be moving it in the direction of her mother’s disapproval.
Much of the story uses cooking as a backdrop for family togetherness, but that’s where I felt letdown, since the film maker didn’t take it far enough for it to evoke other great films that use food as the backdrop. It is a great look at the nature of motherhood, and how tricky those pesky apron strings can be. I enjoyed it, but when this meal of a movie was over, I found myself looking for the next course.
APRON STRINGS plays once more at TIFF 08, and does not yet have North American release info. Might be worth a look.