When family relations break, it takes years for the waters to settle down. Sometimes, the water never even settles and we live our lives in remorse and guilt, waiting for a chance to redeem ourselves. Still the Water is a tale of redemption. It’s never easy to build the burned bridges between two people.
‘Still the Water ‘ Summary
Ice hockey player, Jordie MacAulay (Ry Barrett) returns back to his hometown after he is suspended from a team due to his violent behavior during the game. He seeks shelter in his brother, Nicky MacAulay’s (Colin Price) house but due to the unavailability of a guest house, Nicky gives him the keys to a vacated house. A casual but awkward conversation between the brothers suggests that Nicky has built his own ice hockey ground on the water. The indifferences between them block any further interaction and Jordie starts living a low life in the town.
Soon Jordie meets his youngest sibling, Noah MacAulay (Spencer Graham) who works with their dad on a boat, catching lobsters. Noah also invites Jordie to join their hockey team and play with them. An invitation that doesn’t go down well with Nicky.
Things get unbalanced again as Jordie starts mingling with Nicky’s neighbor Abby Ryan (Christina McInulty) without the knowledge that his brother. Nicky is also having an extramarital affair with Abby. It incites another rift between the two brothers who engage in a fight in between the ice hockey game. Will they be able to settle the conflict between each other or the distance will expand beyond repair?
Major Spoilers Ahead
‘Still the Water’ Ending Explained
Much of the enmity between the brothers is due to the fact that Jordie left town after their mother died. Their father was an alcoholic who used to assault their mother. Once their mother died, and Jordie left the town, all the responsibilities fell upon Nicky who became emotionally unstable and started drinking. He kept Jordie responsible for leaving the family at the moment when they needed him the most.
Jordie however, couldn’t withstand the mere sight of how his father treated his mother. He couldn’t see those things happening in the same room and when his mother died of an accident, he couldn’t control himself and ran away from the degenerate life. He tries to make peace with his father but conveys to him that he won’t be able to forget him ever.
A boating accident, in the end, brings back the two brothers. Like a tragedy set them apart, the arrival of another tragedy brought them together. The heartwarming conversation between the brothers about Ice Hockey melts the ice. They think about their youngest brother Noah and decide to make peace. In the end, Jordie decides to leave again but this time he is not running away, he is leaving with happy memories, and a bridge to come back again has been built.
Jordie also suggests Nicky to mend relations with his wife Alice. Abby has already left Nicky and showed her liking towards Jordie. It is important for Nicky to stop being an alcoholic and start loving his wife. Nicky promises to give it a try. The brothers bid goodby to each other on a happy note. The ending montage establishes that Jordie arrives back in town and spends time with his family.
Still the Water is nothing exceptional. Regardless of its thematic message, the characters and story aren’t well defined. The motives and pursuits keep fading away. However, the film is filled with a wonderful background score that tries to keep the dullness away but an unmotivated drama makes it unbearable. The performances aren’t striking and there is no emotional impact even though the film’s plot is exceptionally dramatic and unique. In short, the film fails to achieve what it aims to.
Still the Water is a 2021 Drama Film directed by Susan Rodgers. The film is available for Video On Demand.
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