The London Free Press  -- TV Times 
Saturday, December 17-23, 1994

Miramichi Miracles

by Barbara Righton

'Small Gifts' is a Christmas movie, yes. Bit it is more about the triumph of the human spirit right here on Earth

Anyone who has ever been broke enough to roll pennies... anyone who has ever faced a jobless future or a freezing winter night stalled on the side of a road ... Anyone whose mother-in-law has ever disapproved of them ... In other words, almost everyone in Canada will find something familiar in Small Gifts, the CBC movie which charmed critics when it premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival in 1993 and then languished on the shelf. It is the simple, kind and sometimes startling story of a young couple, Evan (Jeremy Ratchford) and Nora (Jessica Steen), whose everyday lives are complicated by a terrible, grinding lack of cash and dim prospects in northern New Brunswick's Miramichi region. It is a Christmas story in as much as the sets, the interior of the couple's cramped house trailer, and the church and the town centre are decorated with garlands and crèches. But its sentiments transcend the sappiness of many such dramas. Written by Governor General's Award-winning novelist David Adams Richards, Small Gifts is about the strength of the human spirit. Its miracles are earthly but eloquent. Best of all, Small Gifts gets better with repeated viewings. Next winter, when it is bound to air again during the holiday season, audiences can welcome it as an old friend.

Richards, speaking by telephone from his home in the Miramichi, talks about the beginning stages of Small Gifts. Before he won the Governor General's Award in 1988 (for his novel Nights Below Station Street), Richards says he had already finished a script, "but it didn't come alive. And then I had an idea About young kids at Christmas with no money. The CBC was interested in a novel but when I sent them this script they said, 'Sure.' I had no more than signed the contract than another film company called." Richards is now working on a third screenplay (of his 1993 novel For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down), but if it was easy to sell Small Gifts, he knows the television business has its drawbacks. "When your work is taken away and done by different people, you are never 100 per cent happy," Richards says. "I understand why screenwriters get involved in directing. Still, I think the effort is admirable. I hope there is a certain degree of graciousness and generosity in the script that enables everyone to like it."

There is. There is also a certain amount of rum. In fact, the residents of the frigid landscape in Small Gifts - the main characters, their best friend, the local RCMP officer, the priest, and Evan's burnt-out father (actor Don Francks having a hammy good time) all seem to drink copious quantities. "No, no," says Richards. "Those are the same two mickies throughout."

Ratchford, whose Evan will remind fans of Ox, the character he once played on The Campbells, laughs when he is asked about the booze in the show. Offscreen his gravelly voice suggests a certain proclivity; which he doesn't mind admitting. In fact, the Kitchener, Ont.-born actor, 29, seems like a good ol' boy right down to the Miramichi accent he can still sport nearly two years after filming. Ask him about the beaver pond scene (pivotal, though improbable, so we won't spoil it here) and he chalks it up to "masculinity." Serious for just a few minutes, Ratchford extols the virtues of Small Gifts and then adds, "Oh, God. If it was a bad Christmas movie, can you imagine? It would have been on every year. I would have had to move."

His leading lady, Steen, already has. Although she is now filming Earth 2 in Santa Fe, N.M., the 28-year-old Toronto native is still best known for the ABC drama series, Homefront. "It was a very high pressure show," she, recalls. "It's different to work at home, especially with a hoser like Jeremy. It, was cold [both in Toronto and on location in New Brunswick in February] but it was so much fun. I like that Small Gifts is not bright red and really sparkly." She adds, "The only control an actor has is to promote constructive entertainment in the parts they choose. Unless they have been sitting on the couch too long…"

Sit on the couch for just two hours Sunday and see what she means.

Last update: November 1, 2000 3:41 AM