Neon Dreaming

Eight-year-old Billie’s (Maélya Boyd, in her feature debut) life falls apart when she discovers that a cherished photo of someone she believed to have been her mother is really famed ballerina Karen Kain. Although her grandmother (Genevieve Langlois) and father (Corey Loranger) attempt to soften the blow of this life-changing revelation, the youngster refuses to let go of her fantasy. Recruiting the help of her best friend (Maïna-Rose Caméus), she sets out to prove everyone wrong, even as her own doubts start to creep in. The result is a tremendously heartwarming family drama in Marie-Claire Marcotte’s Neon Dreaming.

From the opening scene, where Billie’s grandmother warns her not to talk about her mother in a school presentation, it’s evident that the topic is a delicate talking point. Hushed whispers about how to handle the subject when Billie isn’t listening give viewers clues about why her mother is no longer present. Unlike audiences, Billie is too young to understand what’s going on. To her, this new information is a cruel lie that’s easier to ignore. By keeping Billie’s perspective separate from the adults in her life, Marcotte explores this delicate situation through the eyes of its young protagonist to inject moments of neon-lit wonderment throughout her feature debut.

Boyd is nothing short of spectacular here. Despite her age, the star carries the brunt of the emotional weight on her shoulders, with a tense kitchen standoff involving a goldfish bowl being one of this film’s most impactful moments. Boyd is at her finest, though, whenever the script calls for her to be a child. Scenes of her playing in the snow with her best friend or losing herself in her own imagination make up the beating heart of this film. While the filmmaker doesn’t embrace the creativity of the latter as much as the title would suggest, their inclusion bring a touch of magic to the screen whenever they appear.

By framing this intimate family drama through the eyes of the young protagonist caught up in the centre of it all, Marcotte succeeds in telling a heartfelt story of a family going through change, led by an extraordinary performance from Boyd.

Andrew Murray

Neon Dreaming does not have a release date yet.

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Watch the trailer for Neon Dreaming here: