At the end of the often stern family drama “All My Puny Sorrows,” after a novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, Yoli (Alison Pill) asks her mother, Lottie (Mare Winningham), if she’s heard of the poet Fernando Pessoa. . After thinking for a while, Yoli, herself a writer, notices that the poet has committed suicide. Lottie replies from across her table puzzle, “Oh brother, who doesn’t?”
It’s a funny joke for a movie where self-destruct is so common to talk about it lightly.
The film follows Yoli; Lottie; and Yoli’s sister, the concert pianist Elf (Sarah Gadon). When the story begins, Elf has just tried to end her own life. Yoli visits Elf in the hospital, where she is recovering, and the pair argue about what to do after Elf’s release. Supported by a stoic Lottie, Yoli sets out to convince Elf that her life is worth living. Eleven wants Yoli to take her to Switzerland so she can legally pursue assisted suicide.
This is a family, and by extension a movie, seriously thinking about suicide – and what is felt by the loved ones they leave behind. Director Michael McGowan lets their drab Canadian malaise evolve into pale cinematography and drab landscapes. The faded images leave the characters little opportunity for expression beyond their words, and the dialogue is at times stilted and overly literary.
The happiness of this room drama is Pill, Gadon and Winningham’s dedication as the struggling family at the heart of the film. The ensemble builds believable chemistry as intimate family members, and when their characters deliver their life-or-death arguments, the stakes feel pretty high.
All my puny sorrows
Rated R for language and references to sex and suicide. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. Rent or buy on Apple TV, Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV providers.