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Movies / On DVD / Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis

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Aurora Borealis (2006)

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Reviews Counted:37

Fresh:25

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: Deeply reminiscent of other, better films, Aurora Borealis nonetheless succeeds on the strength of winning performances from Sutherland and Jackson.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: TV star Joshua Jackson (DAWSON'S CREEK) comes into his own in this well-crafted indie. He plays Duncan, the angry loser of his rundown Minneapolis neighborhood, whose inability to keep a job stems... TV star Joshua Jackson (DAWSON'S CREEK) comes into his own in this well-crafted indie. He plays Duncan, the angry loser of his rundown Minneapolis neighborhood, whose inability to keep a job stems from losing his father 10 years before. He makes ends meet by loaning his apartment out to his philandering brother (Steven Pasquale) for trysts with his many mistresses. Duncan's hockey buddies keep him propped up, but the poor guy is rudderless. His grandparents (Donald Sutherland and Louise Fletcher) hook him up with their nurse, a wayward free spirit named Kate (Juliette Lewis). As the romance between them blossoms, the grandfather's health deteriorates and he begins contemplating suicide; then Kate gets an offer to move out to California, and Duncan faces some tough decisions. Directed by James Burke, this all plays out in a series of tightly blocked, gritty, low-key scenes which nail the depressing mundanity of a Minnesota winter and let the tight-knit ensemble of actors strike a fine balance between dour realism and date movie whimsy. The Brent Boyd script succinctly encompasses a wealth of geriatric and blue collar types, all of whom stretch out and grow and change as the film progresses. The well-rounded characterizations of the grandparents alone make it worth a watch, with Sutherland and Fletcher both aces in roles that deftly shuffle alienation and empathy in a realistic manner. [More]

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, Louise Fletcher

Starring: Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, Louise Fletcher, Steven Pasquale, Zack Ward, Timm Sharp

Director: James Burke

Director: James Burke
Screenwriter: Brent Boyd
Producer: Rick Bieber, Scott Disharon, Jayne A. Larson, Sherri Saito
Composer: Mychael Danna
Studio: Regent Releasing

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Reviews for Aurora Borealis

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/20/08
Michael Szymanski
Michael Szymanski
Hollywood.com

What holds Aurora Borealis together is the complex and very realistic relationships between the characters.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment Comment
07/10/07
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review

What looks like a goopy, disease-of-the-week movie about Alzheimer's turns out to be a surprisingly well crafted, beautifully acted movie.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/10/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

[A] tough, sweet and buoyantly funny drama about how we all grow up in different ways and on different timetables.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
10/30/06
Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Seems designed to reward Jackson with his biggest adult part to date, though it doesn't give the Vancouver, B.C., native a lot to work with.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
10/06/06
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

Good Will Hunting but in the Midwest and minus the tortured math genius, psychological breakthroughs, and convincing local color.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/06/06
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

The script offers neither character revelations nor plot twists. It unfolds by the numbers, like the product of an amateur screenwriter's salon.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
10/05/06
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A fair-to-middling coming-of-age tale [is] played by a stellar cast in an unusual locale [but] never escapes seeming rather ordinary.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/02/06
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Every bromide, plot twist and stock character arrives right on time and, to give director James Burke his due, function as well as they ever have.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/29/06
Neva Chonin
Neva Chonin
San Francisco Chronicle

Boyd's observant script (Minneapolis guy: 'St. What?' Kate: 'St. Paul. It's on the other side of the river.') and fine acting smooth over most of the rough edges.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/28/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

A sensitive and touching story about a distressed family and the emotional glue that holds it together.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
09/28/06
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Predictable but not preachy, its likeable types quirky and familiar, 'Aurora Borealis' is a good if undemanding watch.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/22/06
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Most successful in capturing the emotional elements of its story, the film relies on its excellent cast to balance out sketchily drawn characters and the unfortunate obviousness of its plot.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/21/06
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Aurora Borealis -- yes, that title eventually comes home to roost -- doesn't offend in any way, but it's so self-consciously quaint, so unwaveringly 'nice,' that you nearly wish it did.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/21/06
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

Juliette Lewis makes Aurora Borealis into a funnier, richer, more powerful film than it has any reason to be.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
09/20/06
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

The real surprise here is Lewis, who seems to have finally hit on a role that balances her usual flakiness with smarts and an offbeat poignancy, and she delivers the strongest work of her adult career.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/15/06
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Fine acting distinguishes Aurora Borealis, a moderately affecting seriocomic character study marred by a weak, tidily resolved third act.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
09/15/06
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com

Aurora Borealis is Duncan's story, and it's picked up some of his bad habits; like him, it's not sure what it wants to be.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
09/15/06
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger

Set in dead-of-winter Minneapolis, a ready-made metaphor for (groan, shiver) the chill in Duncan's heart, the movie tells how life warms up when he goes to work at a nursing home.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/15/06
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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