The Girl in the White Coat

The Girl In the White Coat

I am so supportive of the new TIFF Bell Lightbox. They provide the finest of worldwide cinema. Art shows, research, lectures and fine dining are all provided within this amazing building. It needs your support and I hope everyone attends events at this location.
This film is a must see. It touched me in so many ways. What a wonderful way to be supportive of the TIFF Bell Lightbox. You are in for a winning cinematic experience in viewing this film.
The film is based on the exquisite drama The Overcoat. I remember being mesmerized by that theatrical production a few years ago. There wasn’t a word spoken in the play but the action and drama moved me to tears.
This story is loosely based on the play but differs in many ways. Bravo to the Quebec production. It is superb.
Elise is rather pathetic. She is very poor and works sorting papers in a factory. Every penny saved goes to support her father who has had a stroke and lives in a private nursing home. Her only love is her tiny bird and a picture of her kissing some boy, obviously many years before. She wears the same clothes every day and lives in a meager cold room. She wears no makeup and always looks as if her hair needs washing. She has a sad look on her face. Her white coat is tattered and torn beyond belief.
She is constantly bullied and ridiculed at work. The women in her department play pranks on her all the time. It is never clear why. I can only imagine it is because she allows it to happen.
She tries to change her department and it doesn’t work out. Her boss is one of the few kind people in the total story.
She takes her coat into a tailor for repair. The tailor takes pity on her and offers to repair the coat at a minimal price. His wife is cruel and nasty and demands more money before returning the coat. For several weeks she is forced to walk in the cold Montreal weather without any coat. I felt myself shivering throughout the film.
The kindly tailor fixes her coat to make it look better than new. It was touching and emotional to see Elise wearing her bright, freshly cleaned and repaired white coat.
For a short time the white coat seemed to elevate her status. It became a symbol of her chance to improve her life. She is invited to a party and she feels good about herself. She is shown respect at work.
It is all short lived and tragedy befalls Elise.
It was all so heart breaking. Everything deteriorates and the ending becomes opera like.
It is an interesting concept of the power of a positive presentation. It affected everything in her life. All the horrors that befall her build to a crescendo.
Pascal Montpetit is brilliant in her performance as Elise. The landlady is quite a character and adds humor to the plot. At the same time she is also a bully and overly demanding of Elise.
The boss and the tailor represent decent people. The other males that she encounters are the most sordid and unethical types and lead to her downfall.
I want to see this film again. It was powerful. I thought it was brilliant.