Mouthpiece

Based on a stage play, Mouthpiece follows struggling writer Cassandra as she attempts to deal with the recent passing of her mother (Maev Beaty’s Elaine) – with the film’s central conceit being that Cassandra is played by two actresses (Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava). It’s an oddball gimmick that remains fairly distracting for the duration of Mouthpiece‘s 91 minutes, and yet it’s equally clear that the picture benefits substantially from Nostbakken and Sadava’s impressively strong work here – with the effectiveness of their respective performances going a long way towards smoothing over the movie’s more predominantly theatrical aspects. And although filmmaker Patricia Rozema does bog down a few stretches and sequences with an overly avant-garde sensibility, Mouthpiece ultimately comes off as a compelling and occasionally moving drama about the fractured relationship between a mother and her daughter – with the screenplay, by Rozema, Nostbakken, and Sadava, doing a good job of impressively fleshing out the details of Beaty’s character’s personal history (and the degree to which she had to sacrifice her own desires and dreams for the sake of her children). It’s ultimately clear that Mouthpiece is at its best when focused on the low-key exploits of its protagonists, and there’s no denying that certain key moments pack more of an emotional punch than one might’ve anticipated (eg the climactic reveal of what happened at that Christmas party) – which ultimately does cement Mouthpiece‘s place as a cinematic experiment that does, if nothing else, establish Nostbakken and Sadava as bold new talents.

**1/2 out of ****