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★★★★
Directed by: Pascal Payant
Written by: Pascal Payant
Starring: Abbey Seigworth, Mark Markoff, Matthew Bilodeau, Challen Cates
Stolen Season is an indie film written and directed by Pascal Payant and starring Abbey Siegworth, Mike Markoff, Matthew Bilodeau and Challen Cates. The plot focuses on a woman as she attempts to bond with a teenage boy, who she believes is her son that she was forced to give away for adoption when he was born, and the effects that this has on the people around them.
Ariane Longwood (Siegworth) is a therapist, who one day provides assistance to a mother named Kristen Webb (Cates), who informs her that she has just told her seventeen-year-old son Logan (Bilodeau) that he was adopted and he is struggling to come to terms with the news. Having being forced to give a son up for adoption just after giving birth seventeen years ago, due to her past drug addiction, Ariane begins to suspect that Logan might be her son. She has therapy sessions with him and at the same time she follows him around town and looks at pictures of him on the internet, believing that he resembles her. She attempts to bond with him, much to the disapproval of her well-meaning brother Nathan (Markoff), who insists that she leaves Logan alone. Ariane spends more and more time with Logan, even goes for fun activities with him, as if she was his mother, becoming convinced that he is her son and ignores everything else in her life. Nathan goes to his sister's home and discovers that she had been celebrating her unknown son's birthday every year, by writing birthday cards and keeping recorded videos on her computer, wishing him a happy birthday.
The screenplay is very well structured. Payant creates characters that are interesting and believable and places them in scenes that involve well-written dialogue and actions. The ending also leaves the viewer in suspense, wondering whether Ariane will attempt to contact her son or not.
The film is gifted with great performances. All the protagonists successfully bring their characters' emotions to life. Whether a character is feeling joy or sorrow, the actors show the feelings superbly. Particular praise should go to Siegworth, who is outstanding in portraying a traumatized woman who is struggling with losing her son and desperately wants to bring him back into her life.
The main theme of the film is family values. The narrative explores mother-and-son relationships, the way Ariane attempts to get to know Logan as a mother and Logan's relationship with his adoptive mother and relationships between siblings with the relation between Ariane and Nathan. The main message seems to be how important it is for a family to stay together, how much a parent needs their children.
Stolen Season is a remarkable motion picture. A beautifully shot film that provides the audience with a touching and thoughtful experience.
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