Written and directed by Hubert Caron-Guay, co-written by Sophie B. Sylvestre, Mathieu works in a cattle slaughterhouse, when his sister Heidi, whom he has not seen for 3 years, asks him to pick her up in the United States. Despite the warning from his former foster mother, Mathieu leaves everything undone to answer his sister’s call. Starring: Dylan Walsh, Sophie Fekete, Cat Lemieux, Clémence Carpentier, Ben Peters, Dali Mulato and Robert Montcalm.
When it comes to dramas following family trauma and issues, generally subtlety is your friend. Putting things too overtly and spoon feeding the emotions and complexities to the audience, results in a disappointing outing but you do however have to find some middle ground. You have to give your viewers a certain amount of detail or background before you let them unpack the rest themselves, and that’s where The Mechanics of Borders falls short. The script is expecting vague mentions of their biological mother, the fact that they were in foster care, and the siblings’ clear emotional issues to be the entire explanation of this story, and it’s not enough.
It’s a shame because all the other elements of the film are strong work. Hubert Caron-Guay’s direction creates a compelling atmosphere, that’s well charged with the emotions at work. It’s a touching blend of sadness, depression, frustration, vulnerability, pain and emotional damage. The aesthetic is nicely done to give that classic road trip feel, taking its cues from the landscapes, with a good blend of the dusty roads and the darker hues of the cities. The tone also strongly reflects their youth, adding that back and forth between their naivety, denial and defensiveness.
The performances are another excellent element, Dylan Walsh does a terrific job of capturing the complexities to Mathieu beneath his brooding exterior. Portraying that classic putting up of walls and pretending to be entirely unaffected by everything, when he’s so afraid of letting anyone in and getting hurt. Walsh hits all the classic 19-year-old male notes, while still making him accessible and bringing a moving quality to his performance. While Sophie Fekete portrays the typical manic personality, constantly moving from one extreme to another, unreliable and unpredictable. She brings a great intensity which creates a complicated relationship between the siblings, which drives The Mechanics of Borders.
That’s really all the film has to offer, it’s watching their relationship and how it’s so erratic and broken. Arguably, it’s a fairly a typical road trip film, putting two people with a messy relationship in an intimate environment and letting the flaws, resentments and unresolved issues slowly bubble to the surface. It’s a quintessential formula and it works, it holds your attention well enough, but it never delves into those issues deeply enough to make a lasting impression. It’s remaining on the surface and keeping things fairly vague rather than making a breakthrough.
The Mechanics of Borders is well made with a strongly emotional atmosphere, but it doesn’t divulge enough of its story to hit more powerful notes. It holds its cards too close to its chest, and expects the audience to simply guess most of the backstory to explain why these siblings have a fractured relationship, trust issues and mental health problems. It’s disappointing, as all of the other factors going into the film create the perfect environment for this story to blossom. The performances from Dylan Walsh and Sophie Fekete are moving and nicely intense, the atmosphere is compelling, and the cinematography is great work. It simply needed that extra bit of detail to fulfil its potential.
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