Margaret's Museum

Mort Ransen's film version of the Sheldon Currie story THE GLACE BAY MINER'S MUSEUM should be considered by now required viewing form any good Maritimer and despite a few little historical glitches manages to portray aspects of the Cape Breton lifestyle from that period. I will say it is odd for Helena Bonham Carter's best work to also be her worst. Her dialect here is truly wretched and I found it odd that Kenneth Welsh is the only one who managed to get it right. Granted, there were and are still many accents to be found in the region especially as so many traveled to the mines for work. Kate Nelligan comes damn close but it is Welsh who nails it, Speaking of Welsh, he pretty much steals the film with one scene which though seeming fantastical and comic serves to better express the coastal demeanor better than any other aspect of this film. Aside form the accent problem, Bonham Carter serves up some of her best work to date and though Clive Russel brings a fine performance he somehow seems wrong for the role. Not the easiest film to track down but well worth the effort.