Leaving Everything 1.6 - The Dawn Trails

Leaving Everything - The Dawn Trails

Director : Marielle Heller

Writer : Ann Morrow

Based on the novel by Anais Barbeau-Lavalette

Cast: Rebecca Hall, Robin Tunney, Tobey Maguire, Colm Feore, Lance Henriksen, Adam Arkin, Alan Ford, Marissa Jaret Winokur and James Le Gros

Plot:

Anna (Robin Tunney) pulls in the parking lot of the asylum where her uncle is hospitalized and she checks with his doctor (James LeGros), making sure one more time if he thinks it’s a good idea for her to take him out of the asylum and into the real world for an afternoon. He says he has been making significant progress in the past week and it all started since she started to visit, so she must have a positive influence on him. They wheel him out in a wheelchair and Francis (Lance Henriksen) quickly smiles at his niece. She pushes him outside and he gets out the wheelchair. Anna turns her engine on and they leave. She breaks the silence by saying that they are not going where the doctor thinks they’re going.

Marcel (Tobey Maguire) gets off his train with his dear friend and mentor Paul-Emile Borduas (Colm Feore) by his side. Borduas came all the way back to Quebec country to surprise Suzanne. They walk fast, at a nervous, quick pace. They knock on the door, but nobody answers. Marcel says he’ll go check if she’s in the bathroom a little further away and Borduas stays at the door. He decides to open it and it wasn’t locked. He enters and he can’t believe what he sees. The young Mousse is sitting on the floor, shivering, with her little brother in her arms, trying to comfort him. They are covered in dirt. Marcel arrives and Mousse drops the baby and runs in her dad’s arms. He asks her where Mom is and Mousse says that she left two days ago and she never came back. 

Suzanne’s train stops in New York. On the way there, she wrote a long letter to Borduas, thanking him for making her realise that she was meant to be much more than a housewife and that she was truly, an artist. She immediately posts the letter, even if she knows he’ll never answer back, she has no address now. She walks around New York, liberated. She skips around and finally stops and lies on the ground in Central Park, where she watches the clouds, laughing, finally free from the burden of motherhood. A man is looking at her from a distance, showing interest in her, but he hides behind his newspaper, he doesn’t want to catch her attention.

Back in Quebec, the situation is much different and much more sad for Marcel Barbeau. He sits on the floor of his living room, hugging his frail daughter and his infant son near the fire Borduas started. He tries to understand what happened, she didn’t leave a note, nothing. Borduas thinks about it for a long time and finally breaks the palpable discomfort in the room by saying he thinks he knows why Suzanne left and it’s because of him, but he refuses to tell Marcel why, even if Barbeau threatens him. His mouth stays shut and he swears this secret will follow him to his grave. Marcel silently gets up and packs bags for his children.

Suzanne lifts her head a bit and she sees the man watching her. She gets up and walks in his direction. He gets a little nervous and moves the newspaper closer to his face. She lowers the newspaper and she tells him in her broken English she learned in Ontario when she was younger that she sees him watching her. She asks him what is name is and he says he’s Lenny (Adam Arkin). She says she’s new in town and she wants to know the city a little better and she wants him to show her the city. He says he’ll be sure to do it and he asks her if she’s hungry. She says she is and he asks her if she ever went to McDonald’s and she says she hasn’t. He can’t believe and they walk together over to the McDonalds.

Marcel is dressed from head to toe in black, like he’s going to a funeral. He also dressed up his children and Borduas is still following him. They take the train and go to another city. Borduas and Marcel haven’t shared a word since they left Marcel’s home in the country. They follow a dirt road and Marcel knocks on a door, where a woman answer. It’s his sister Helene (Marissa Jaret Winokur). He asks if he received their letter and she says she did. He gives her the baby and he grabs Mousse by the hand. He crouches and he says he will be back soon, but they will stay with aunt Helene now. He whips a tear off his cheek and kisses her on the forehead. He asks Helene to take care of her and she says she will. Marcel turns around and leaves, as Borduas follows him. He asks him if he will ever come back for his children, but Marcel says he prefers to not answer that question, as he whips another tear of his face.

Suzanne is now outside with her new friend and Lenny. He laughs at her accent and he puts ketchup on her nose. They laugh together and she kisses him. She says she’s finally free and she doesn’t care. He’s surprised by the kiss, but he accepts it.

Anna parks her car near a small studio. She unbuckles Francis and she asks him to follow her. They enter the studio and she’s surprised by how cold it is in there. Classical music is playing and the white are pristine white. She hears a man humming along the music and she grabs Francis by the hand. They see the man and he turns around, surprised by his unexpected visitors. Marcel Barbeau (Alan Ford) is painting a huge painting. Anna simply says that this is his son and she wants him to tell him what he did to him. It’s time they face one another.