The Stone Angel

An adaptation of Margaret Laurence’s acclaimed novel, The Stone Angel does manage to touch on many of the more noteworthy plot points within Laurence’s work – yet there’s simply no denying that much of the film comes off as flat and artless. Ellen Burstyn stars as Hagar Shipley, a strong-willed 90-year-old who spends her final days reminiscing on the past – with a particular emphasis on her marriage to a farmer named Bram (alternatively played by father-and-son actors Wings and Cole Hauser) and her tumultuous relationship with her sons. Filmmaker Kari Skogland initially infuses The Stone Angel with an unmemorable sense of style that only exacerbates the film’s various problems, and there’s just no denying that Hagar is consequently not quite as compelling a figure as she was in the book. It’s not until the focus shifts to Hagar’s later years that things finally start to get interesting, although, admittedly, Christine Horne does an awfully effective job of stepping into the character’s shoes as a young adult. The strength of Burstyn’s subtle, thoroughly engaging work here carries the film through some of its less-than-effective sequences, and there’s certainly no overlooking the palpable emotional punch of the movie’s final scenes.

**1/2 out of ****