Themes: Innocence Lost, Mothers and Sons, Witnessing a Crime
Main Cast: Liv Ullmann, Kiefer Sutherland, Alan Scarfe, Mathieu Carrière, Peter Donat
Release Year: 1984
Country: CA
Run Time: 107 minutes
Plot
Kiefer Sutherland won the Canadian equivalent of the Academy Award for his performance in Bay Boy. In 1937 Nova Scotia, Donald Campbell (Sutherland) lives with his dirt-poor parents (Liv Ullmann and Peter Donat). His folks hope that Donald will enter the priesthood, but he isn't keen on this. For one thing, he harbors "unnatural" feelings towards a nun; for another, one of the local priests has made sexual advances towards him. Donald prefers to spend his time with pretty sisters Saxon and Dianna (Leah Pinsent and Jane McKinnon) -- but even this becomes untenable when the boy witnesses a homicidal hate crime committed by the girls' father, police constable Tom Coldwell (Alan Scarfe). It is in this intolerable atmosphere that Donald finally comes of age, which is the point to which the film is leading. Weighed down with an unnecessarily complex script, Kiefer Sutherland comes off quite well in Bay Boy; the other performers -- even the estimable Liv Ullmann -- tend to be one-note stereotypes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Isabelle Mejias - Mary McNeil; Peter Spence - Joe Campbell; Chris Wiggins - Chief Charles McInnes; Stéphane Audran - Blanche; David Ferry - Walt Roach; Josephine Chaplin - Marie Chaisson; Joe MacPherson - Rory McInnes; Kevin McKenzie - Mr. Rankin; Leah King Pinsent - Saxon Coldwell; Tom Rack - Sol Silver; Fannie Shore - Mrs. Silver; Thomas Peacocke - Father McKinnon; Pauline Lafont - Janine Chaisson; Robert Taylor - Paddy O'Neil; Jane McKinnon - Dianna Coldwell; Bob Rose - Danny McIssac
Credit
Richard Harrison - Art Director, René Cleitman - Co-producer, Renee April - Costume Designer, Daniel Petrie - Director, Daniel Petrie - Editor, Peter Wintonick - Editor, Susan Shanks - Editor, Susan Cavan - Executive Producer, Claude Bolling - Composer (Music Score), Josianne Deschamps - Makeup, Al Smith - Camera Operator, Wolf Kroeger - Production Designer, Claude Agostini - Cinematographer, Stéphane Reichel - Production Manager, Denis Heroux - Producer, John Kemeny - Producer, Michael Kavanagh - Special Effects, Martin Malivoire - Special Effects, Patrick Rousseau - Sound/Sound Designer, Don White - Sound/Sound Designer, Dave Appleby - Sound/Sound Designer, Charles Bower - Sound/Sound Designer, Peter Burgess - Sound Editor, Daniel Petrie - Screenwriter
Donald Campbell (Kiefer Sutherland) is a sensitive teenage boy coming of age in a dark and uncertain time for both his community and life. His mother (Liv Ullman) wants him to continue his education and become a priest, but Donald is more interested in girls than the Bible, and a molestation attempt by a local priest dissuades him further from this path.
Donald spends his time helping his father (Peter Donat) with a Bootleg Pit while caring for his mentally handicapped older brother and pursuing Saxon Coldwell (Leah Pinsent), his next-door neighbor.
Donald lives a hard-working but happy life, surrounded by old friends and family. But one night he witnesses a murder by a local policemen, the father of his neighbor and object of affection. He knows speaking out might endanger his family and his relationship with the man's daughters.
The film also depicts the daily lives of the eccentric locals and tight-knit families.
Production
The movie was filmed entirely on location in Cape Breton, and primarily in Glace Bay. Many of the extras are performed by local residents.
