Wilby Wonderful

A single day in a small island town in eastern Canada. Dan is planning to end his life quietly and is working hard at making sure nobody notices. On the same day the estate agent Carol is trying to sell her house, the police officer Buddy is trying to keep a piece of island gossip closed, the painter Duck is up on a roof, and the local paper is preparing to publish a list connected to a place on the island where men meet. Everybody is hiding something. Daniel MacIvor wrote and directed; his background in theatre shows in the structure, with the stories tied together in short scenes. Although its subject is suicide and secrecy, the film is not heavy; the humour is built out of the town's own language. The cast is strong: Sandra Oh, Callum Keith Rennie, Paul Gross, Rebecca Jenkins and a very young Elliot Page. The narrative rescues nobody; it only leaves everyone slightly more visible at the end of a day.