The Boathouse Review

September 29, 2021 at 9:52pm
By Jason Stettner

This was a rather unique mystery film that follows a young woman named Anne (Michaela Murimsky) as she deals with being the nanny to two young children. She’s stepping into a rather somber role as their mother has seemingly abandoned them. Anne has a personal connection to their mother, having been learning under her guidance.

Anne has to deal with not only the two children having issues, but also a budding romance with their father Dominic (Alan Van Sprang). To top that all off, there’s something that keeps dragging at Anne and it’s not just the mind altering effects of the medication she needs to deal with from an accident that happened not too long ago.

That may seem like a lot of information, but it’s really just providing a starting point to give context into the initial setup. It’s a deep rooted mystery with some turns and a lot of misdirection. It dives into the mind of someone seemingly losing it, while at the same time surprising you by where everything ends up going.

It’s very calculated in that regard, as it threw me off the trail while also at the same time seemingly meandering through its plot. That was clever, it gives off enough details and slowly reveals what exactly is going on which was well done.

This was well shot, with some well displayed dream sequences. These moments really helped develop the madness, and to keep the confusion going. At times I thought it might have been meandering with not much going on, but there is payout to that madness and I was generally pleased with how that was handled.

It was unique in its setup, pushing you one way and then having something more distinct to note within its execution. Perhaps not entirely fresh premise wise, but the mystery was engaging and interesting to view. The performances were well done, from the rather dysfunctional family to the nanny that was nestling her way into the grouping. It was neat to see how all of the events fell into place.

It was also in general just rather engaging. The atmosphere was well setup feeling moody, and having some thought out musical inclusions that helped display the work that was at the core of this grouping. There were some sexual scenes included, they did contribute to the connection though and were brief in nature. I mention this in case it’s something you wonder about when going to view a film.

The Conclusion

The Boathouse provides a rather intriguing mystery that confuses the viewer with dreamscape sequences while ultimately having something clever hidden behind the scenes. It has some unique dynamics to the various characters and the troubles they’re dealing with. It plays around with the notion of what’s really going on, and it was interesting to see everything come together.

At first I was a bit confused as to where things were going. I was definitely surprised by where things went, not necessarily all of the reveals but the conclusive points definitely took my by complete surprise. This was well shot, it brought in some solid performances and was an enjoyable mystery to see pay out.

The Boathouse Review at Home with Streamed Viewing during Calgary Film Festival
Screening Provided by Calgary Film

Rating Overall: 7.2