Emile (DVD, 2005)

Sir Ian McKellen is the undoubted star as Emile. He plays, in this Canadian drama, a 65yo troubled with remorseful memories and regrets. Emile is nearly over the edge with guilt for leaving his family when he was younger.

It's that guilt which compels him to make an older man's attempt to exonerate himself by reuniting with his living relatives.

The story about Emile is portrayed through his flashbacks (like McKellen did in "Gods and Monsters"). Like lead role of James Whale in "God's and Monster's" was weakened by a "touch of stroke," and had a "storm going on in his brain," which rendered him in frequent states of mental fragility, Emile's mental state is also demonstrated by braiding the present with the past.

I asked myself if Emile was ever fully present in the moment since he was so consumed over his past. The eternal life struggle and Emile's "tragic flaw" is both is desire to belong to his family while being independent from it!

Sir Ian McKellen doesn't bother acting in films or plays that do not have extremely well-written scripts. He's such an outstanding character actor in dramas that we cannot go wrong buying the films in which he stars. "Emile," is especially well suited for McKellen since he is most exemplary of all actors in the acumen of expressing the complex conflicts of emotional shifts. What also helps the film's success is McKellen's supporting actress: Debra Unger.