Lucid is a very good supernatural thriller that had me entertained throughout its running time. Usually when I go to a Canadian film it is with a certain apprehension; I think I'm going to be bored to death by some witless story that was made as a tax dodge. Sean Garrity with his second film is roughly where Atom Egoyan was when he made Exotica: just on the cusp of world recognition. The story is very funny at first--you have the nuttiest trio of confused minds in therapy, and their therapist, Joel, who has many problems himself. The tone gets darker and more violent as the story advances.
Jonas Chernick as Joel and Michelle Nolden as Chandra are very good, Joel trying to help Chandra with her fixation on her dead sister. Callum Keith Rennie does a terrific turn as Victor, a man full of psychic pain and violence--we first see him throwing a chair against the wall and demanding that his release form be signed. Rennie has an expressive acting style that allows him to be funny, sinister and very dangerous all in the same scene. This is a film that deserves wide distribution outside Canada.
Jonas Chernick as Joel and Michelle Nolden as Chandra are very good, Joel trying to help Chandra with her fixation on her dead sister. Callum Keith Rennie does a terrific turn as Victor, a man full of psychic pain and violence--we first see him throwing a chair against the wall and demanding that his release form be signed. Rennie has an expressive acting style that allows him to be funny, sinister and very dangerous all in the same scene. This is a film that deserves wide distribution outside Canada.