TIFF: Alison Pill and Sarah Gadon in ‘All My Puny Sorrows’
Monday, September 13, 2021 at 9:00AM 
Certain feelings and states of being are entirely subjective, and that leads people to judge others based on the limited amount they’re able to perceive. Competing for the most legitimate reason to be unhappy is never a productive exercise, and yet many think that someone else can’t possibly have it as bad as them or have as much of an excuse to feel the way they do. Sadness can only be truly experienced and quantified by the one experiencing it, a concept navigated in the moving drama All My Puny Sorrows, screening in the Special Presentations section at TIFF…
Yoli (Alison Pill) is a writer struggling to get her next book done while in the middle of an unpleasant divorce, and she finds her motivation further stunted by the news that her sister Elf (Sarah Godon) is in the hospital after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Their family trauma runs deep, traced back to the suicide of their father (Donal Logue), presumably affected by his involvement in the Mennonite community. Yoli clashes with her mother (Mare Winningham) and other family members as she struggles to convince her sister that life is worth living.
While that last sentence might sound hokey and overdone, this film is most definitely not. Yoli resents Elf strongly for, in her mind, hogging all the attention, and being selfish enough to think that ending her life is an action that won’t have an impact on her family. Pill and Gadon share rich scenes in which Yoli and Elf speak bluntly and harshly with each other, holding nothing back and unearthing long-held resentments that speak to who they are and how their sibling relationship has affected other aspects of their lives.
This film, based on the book of the same name by Miriam Toews, is an acting powerhouse, giving fantastic material to two actresses very much up for the challenge. Pill has shown enormous range in TV series like In Treatment, The Newsroom, and Star Trek: Picard, and she’s in typically fine form here. Gadon, a standout of projects such as Black Bear, American Woman, and 11.22.63, is equally terrific. This poignant story features raw, dynamic characters, whose journeys feel real and relatable in an emotionally resonant and powerful film. B+
All My Puny Sorrows is screening in the Special Presentations section at TIFF 2021.
Alison Pill, All My Puny Sorrow, Reviews, Sarah Gadon, TIFF
Reader Comments (2)
I'd like to see this as I'm both a fan of Alison Pill and Sarah Gadon.
Miriam Toews is one of Canada's greatest writers, and All My Puny Sorrows is her best book. I had no idea this was being adapted into a film and I'm so excited for it.