Written and directed by Patricia Rozema, an uptight and conservative woman, working on tenure as a literacy professor at a large urban university, finds herself strangely attracted to a free-spirited, liberal woman who works at a local carnival that comes to town. Starring: Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford, Henry Czerny, David Fox, Don McKellar, Tracy Wright and Clare Coulter.
A film like When Night is Falling is always going to live or die by the chemistry of its leading lesbians, if it doesn’t have that spark, there’s simply not point but there’s plenty more than a spark between Pascale Bussières and Rachael Crawford. The two of them have one of those fantastic connections that simply take a look, they’re immediately flirtatious and bring a great deal of charm. They create the classic all or nothing, passionate, dive in headfirst relationships, it’s sensual and undeniable.
All of that is then served fantastically by the visual work, the tone perfectly fits the highly poetic and dramatically charged nature of the story. The restoration work highlights the excellent texture and colour to the cinematography, giving it a bigger depth. Its style almost feels like an influence on William Oldroyd’s Eileen. There’s a huge dose of intimacy but it never feels too contained, Patricia Rozema doesn’t limit herself, taking some interesting detours along the way.
The story leans into the religious element strongly, giving a big theme of forbidden fruit and temptation but not so much as to lose touch with a genuine relationship. Granted, it would have been nice in the landscape of twentieth century cinema to get more films which explored everyday lesbian relationships, rather than having the typical straight woman discovering her burgeoning sexuality while in a committed relationship. Especially when it throws in a fairly unnecessary, and possibly strategic, sex scene between Bussières and Henry Czerny, although Czerny is a nice addition to the cast.
When Night is Falling is well served by its new 4K restoration, breathing new life into its sensual and textured aesthetic. Pascale Bussières and Rachael Crawford are enchanting to watch, so while the story may dip into stereotypical territory at times, they more than make up for that. It’s nicely dramatic, even almost fatalistic in how it approaches their charged and life-changing connection. Whether the extent that the religious angle plays into the story truly has something to add is debatable and it perhaps takes a few tangents, but it certainly deserves its place in the history of lesbian cinema.
FilmCarnage.com 