Themes: Existential Crisis, Golden Years, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, Louise Fletcher, Zack Ward
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Duncan (Joshua Jackson), a depressed twentysomething living in a rundown section of Minneapolis, has just lost another job. He has another source of income, letting his brother use his apartment for extramarital trysts. On a rare visit to his grandparents, Ronald (Donald Sutherland) and Ruth (Louise Fletcher), Duncan meets Kate (Juliette Lewis), Ronald's spirited home health-care worker. Later, when Duncan learns that there's an opening for a handyman in the building, he takes the job. He begins to spend more time with his grandparents, hanging out with Ronald, who, among his many health problems, suffers from Parkinson's disease. He also has occasion to see Kate, and the two cautiously begin a romantic relationship. Kate is "one of those people," as Duncan puts it, who moved to Minneapolis because of the Replacements. Unlike Duncan, who has never left Minneapolis, Kate has never stayed in any one place for too long. She's anxious to get out and explore the world, while Duncan seems immobilized. Yet they connect, if only for a time. As Duncan reconnects with his grandparents and grows more intimate with Kate, he begins to deal with his grief over the sudden death of his father. Meanwhile, with his health deteriorating, Ronald begins to think of ending his life, and turns to his grandson for help. Aurora Borealis was directed by James Burke from an original screenplay by Brent Boyd. The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Review
Compared to your typical depressive slacker drama, James Burke's Aurora Borealis has a few things in its favor. First, it has a very specific sense of place. The film milks its icy Vikings-obsessed Minneapolis location for all its worth, both visually and thematically. There's also a very strong performance by Donald Sutherland as the main character's Parkinson's-riddled grandfather. Sutherland takes what could have been a bathetic role as a sickly, sentimental, and suicidal man and fully humanizes Ronald. The script helps here, filling in the emotional and biographical details that make this a memorable character. Juliette Lewis is also on hand, and though she can be a mannered performer, her buoyancy works here. Her one-line dissection of a believably awful Thanksgiving dinner -- "the family tension, the sweaters, the little marshmallows on the desserts..." -- is flawlessly delivered. Her high energy as Kate keeps the film from becoming maudlin. Aurora Borealis has considerable flaws. Joshua Jackson doesn't make much of a strong impression in the lead, and the ending, particularly the way Ronald's story plays out, is a total copout, negating the startling emotional honesty that came before. But the film still resonates, as Burke gets a lot of mileage out of simple, effective compositions, and fine work with his cast. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Barry Isenor - Art Director, Jayne Amelia Larson - Associate Producer, Monika Mikkelsen - Casting, Anne Dixon - Costume Designer, Walter Gasparovic - First Assistant Director, James Burke - Director, Richard Nord - Editor, Mychael Danna - Composer (Music Score), Frankie Pine - Musical Direction/Supervision, Taavo Soodor - Production Designer, Alar Kivilo - Cinematographer, Rick Bieber - Producer, Scott Disharoon - Producer, Richard Penn - Sound/Sound Designer, Brent Boyd - Screenwriter, Perry Hoffman - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Marlo Pabon - Visual Effects Supervisor, Marianne Klein - Special Effects Coordinator, Byron Wilson - Supervising Sound Editor, Ted Hanlon - Second Unit Assistant Director, Erica Milo - Set Decorator, Bob Dylan - Featured Music, Paul Westerberg - Featured Music
Duncan (Joshua Jackson) is an unemployed youth, trying to cope with the death of his father ten years ago. The film is set in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Duncan's grandparents, Ronald (Donald Sutherland) and Ruth (Louise Fletcher) move into an apartment with a very nice view. Ron claims that he has seen the Northern Lights akaAurora Borealis from the balcony. Ron is fast deteriorating with Alzheimer's disease. Kate (Juliette Lewis) is the home assistant of Ron and Ruth.
In order to be close to his grandparents, Duncan finds a job as a handyman at the building where they are staying. There he meets Kate and the two quickly fall in love. Meanwhile, Duncan takes care of Ron and helps out Ron in coping with his condition.
Duncan does not want to leave the town he grew up in. He is not able to free himself from his fears of the past and his sorrow of his father's death. Ron nudges him to do something with his life. He tells Kate that Duncan needs someone who can push him to action. Kate too suggests that Duncan move on with his life.
Kate announces that she has to move to San Diego. This breaks Duncan, but he is still not ready to leave.
Ron wants to end his life and misery. He asks Duncan to buy him some shells for his shot gun. In a moment of despair, Duncan loads the shotgun and gives it to Ron, but he is not able to position the gun so that he can pull the trigger with his toe. The gun goes off and Duncan runs inside. Ron follows but has a heart attack and dies.
Kate leaves for San Diego and Duncan says his goodbyes. On reaching her new place, she sees Duncan at the doorstep, ready to give his life another shot.
