The Grand Seduction

In the small Canadian fishing village of Tickle Head, the line for unemployment welfare cheques is the most popular place for miles around. When the mayor informs the townsfolk that a big company wants to build a giant factory in their harbour, everyone is overjoyed as it means jobs and money for all. One small problem; the big company demands that the small town have a doctor – which the town doesn’t have – on call in case of emergencies in the factory. Not letting the opportunity slip through his fingers, village resident Murray (Brendan Gleeson) takes control of the situation and tries to seduce a passing-through Dr. Lewis (Taylor Kitsch) by turning Tickle Head into everything he could want and more.

Yes, it’s the “entire small town comes together to pull one over on the big city folk” type of movie, like Waking Ned or Local Hero, and truth be told, things don’t start off very well. Gleeson picks up and drops off his Canadian/American accent from scene to scene before abandoning it entirely half-way through, while the manner in which Kitsch comes to visit Tickle Head – he’s arrested for cocaine possession in an airport – and what he does while he’s there – pursuing local hottie Kathleen (Liane Balaban) while he’s still engaged to another woman – doesn’t exactly make him all that likable.

Somehow though, against our better judgements, The Grand Seduction manages to wear down our defences and seduce us all. Accent issues aside, this is Gleeson’s most energetic role in ages, and watching him run from one side of the village to the other, keeping all the plates of his scheme spinning is very entertaining to watch. While the burgeoning romance of Kitsch and Balaban starts off on dodgy ground, it does eventually reach a place where it becomes quite endearing. And then there’s the supporting cast through the town, all doing their bit for the plot to work and giving their all for the comedy scenes, especially the two old biddies listening in to Kitsch’s “adult phonecalls” back to his fiancé and learning a thing or two in the process.

The Grand Seduction is much like taking a holiday to Tickle Head; charming, picturesque and filled with eccentric, likeable characters, but you’re happy to leave when the trip is over, knowing you’ll probably never visit there again.