I have a very specific and very brief connection to the Maine lobster industry. In 1997 my wife and I were there visiting Maine relatives and one of them, a cousin-in-law, was a lobster fisherman. One of the highlights of the visit was the lobster boil at aunt Marie's house overlooking the Atlantic. The critters were caught that morning and cooked in ocean water. Indescribably good!
So, with that small connection I found this movie, "Islander", very interesting. It deals with the occasional boundary disputes between mainlanders and islanders for the location of the lobster traps.
Thomas Hildreth co-wrote the script and stars as Eben Cole, one of the fishermen, like his father and his grandfather before him. But he is somewhat of a hot-head and unwisely uses a shotgun to threaten another fisherman at sea. This results indirectly in an accident which changes everything for Eben.
Most of the actors have extensive TV and stage experience and are good enough for this production. The best actor in the cast is Philip Baker Hall as the old fisherman Popper. I also particularly enjoyed Amy Jo Johnson, of "Felicity" fame, as Cheryl, Eben's wife.
The movie is primarily a study of the characters and their lives, living and working on the somewhat isolated island off the coast of Maine. I enjoyed it for what it is.
SPOILERS: The incident with Eben resulted in a young man falling off the boat and, tangled in ropes, drowned. Eben, unable to afford a good lawyer, is assigned a public defender who advises him to accept a plea bargain of manslaughter and serve 5 to 7 years in prison, which he does. Upon getting out his wife has divorced him and she and the young daughter moved in with a rival fisherman. Much of the last half of the movie is Eben trying to rebuild his life and overcome all the hate directed towards him. A town doctor whose husband left her upon finding she planned to go back to the island to practice becomes Eben's new love interest, and he gradually gets back into fishing.
So, with that small connection I found this movie, "Islander", very interesting. It deals with the occasional boundary disputes between mainlanders and islanders for the location of the lobster traps.
Thomas Hildreth co-wrote the script and stars as Eben Cole, one of the fishermen, like his father and his grandfather before him. But he is somewhat of a hot-head and unwisely uses a shotgun to threaten another fisherman at sea. This results indirectly in an accident which changes everything for Eben.
Most of the actors have extensive TV and stage experience and are good enough for this production. The best actor in the cast is Philip Baker Hall as the old fisherman Popper. I also particularly enjoyed Amy Jo Johnson, of "Felicity" fame, as Cheryl, Eben's wife.
The movie is primarily a study of the characters and their lives, living and working on the somewhat isolated island off the coast of Maine. I enjoyed it for what it is.
SPOILERS: The incident with Eben resulted in a young man falling off the boat and, tangled in ropes, drowned. Eben, unable to afford a good lawyer, is assigned a public defender who advises him to accept a plea bargain of manslaughter and serve 5 to 7 years in prison, which he does. Upon getting out his wife has divorced him and she and the young daughter moved in with a rival fisherman. Much of the last half of the movie is Eben trying to rebuild his life and overcome all the hate directed towards him. A town doctor whose husband left her upon finding she planned to go back to the island to practice becomes Eben's new love interest, and he gradually gets back into fishing.