The Bay Boy *** (1984, Liv Ullmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Peter Donat) – Classic Movie Review 10,287

Writer-director Daniel Petrie’s Canadian 1984 coming-of-age drama/ thriller The Bay Boy [Un Printemps Sous La Neige] stars Liv Ullmann, Kiefer Sutherland and Peter Donat.

Life is nasty and brutish for 16-year old Donald Campbell (Sutherland) growing up in a small coal mining town in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1937. His hardworking mother Jenny Campbell (Ullmann) wants him to join the priesthood and help his father Will Campbell (Donat) instead of chasing the local girls. Then the boy sees a cop murder an elderly Jewish couple and a killer follows his every move.

Sutherland’s very confident début, the good cast, Petrie’s writing and handling, the unusual setting and fine period atmosphere offset the lack of surprises and thrills in this minor but involving, appealing and attractive rites-of-passage tale of emerging sexuality.

Also in the cast are Alan Scarfe, Chris Wiggins, Mathieu Carrière, Leah Pinsent, Thomas Peacocke, Isabelle Mejias, Jane McKinnon, Peter Spence and Josephine Chaplin.

It is filmed entirely on location on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Daniel Petrie was born on 26 November 1920 in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada.

It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 6 September 1984.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,287

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com