In an isolated community far up B.C.'s wild Pacific coast, a lonely woman learns her best friend has been sleeping with her husband. Soon after, the friend is found dead in the salt chuck behind the wheel of her turquoise Camaro. As the mystery unfolds and the tension tightens, all the characters - Laurel, her husband, her daughter, her buddy Bennie and the local cop - find their lives changing in unpredictable ways.
That's the premise of Desolation Sound, an independent film being produced on the Sunshine Coast by the Vancouver company Sleepwalker Films. For director Scott Weber and screenwriter Glynis Davies, this film is the culmination of nine years of work and dreams, while producer Mary Anne Waterhouse has been involved for four years. They faced disappointment last summer when financing fell through and filming had to be postponed but persevered and found the money to make the project a reality. A belief in the strength of the Desolation Sound script kept them from giving up.
"It's a very visual story. It lends itself to interesting psychological dynamics," said Weber.
For Waterhouse, the two strong female leads made this story special.
"It's about finding your own sense of yourself," she said.
Atmospheric coastal locations are key to the look of the film. Much of the filming is taking place at a rustic cedar-sided house deep in the forest of upper Roberts Creek, rented from a private owner. The Girl Guides' Camp Olave in Roberts Creek provides several locations, including the town hall. The Madeira Park wharfinger's office stands in for a rural police station, and the Egmont dock is the setting for a goodbye scene as Laurel's husband, a wildlife photographer, roars off in a floatplane.
The dramatic scene of the Camaro going to its watery grave will be shot at Gospel Rock in Gibsons. Originally the filmmakers planned to film that scene at Garden Bay Lake, where the road runs along the lakeshore. After that plan was nixed by concerns about the lake's environment and drinking water supply, the town of Gibsons stepped forward to help find a new location for the scene.
Gospel Rock, a rocky bluff with a steep drop to the ocean, will be a spectacular but technically challenging location, said Waterhouse. The film will be shot to make it appear that the edge of the cliff is right off the road. After the car makes its big splash, air bags will float it so it can be towed ashore.
"We only get one shot," Waterhouse said. "Bigger budget films would have a double for the car."
Several days of pouring rain put a damper on the first week of filming, but Weber said the stormy weather suited the mood of the story.
"For the look of the film, this is the perfect weather," he said. "Logistically, rain is not great, but grey and cloudy weather adds to the mood of the whole piece."
In fact, the script calls for Bennie, played by Lothaire Bluteau, to dig a grave in the rose garden in a rainstorm. But after reminiscing about the chills he endured while shooting a hot love scene in the cold rain of Toronto in November, Bluteau joked that he'd rather use fake movie rain than shoot the scene in the real thing.
Howard said the entire cast and crew have taken the film to heart.
"I'm absolutely blown away by the cast," he said. "We have a very small budget [$1.4 million] and this whole cast is coming on only because of the script. Every character is incredible. They all have their moments to shine and the ability to bring out the depth of the script."
Helene Joy, an Australian-Canadian who had the lead role in the CBC series An American in Canada, plays the part of Laurel. Jennifer Beals, of Flashdance fame, plays Elizabeth, the sophisticated city friend who ends up dead. Ian Tracey, who plays detective Mick Leary on the TV series DaVinci's Inquest, has the role of Laurel's husband. Ed Begley Jr., who played Dr. Victor Ehrlich on the series St. Elsewhere, is the local cop.
Desolation Sound is scheduled for completion in November and will go on the festival circuit before its theatrical release. It will definitely play in Vancouver, said Waterhouse, and "eventually people will see this on Movie Central if they miss it in the theatres."
