‘Beneath The Harvest Sky’ premiered at TIFF13, is a coming of age drama with a lot going for it. It hits all the emotional twists, turns and gritty realities facing teens today. It is so easy to make the wrong decision and find your life “fuck’d”. A well written/directed script by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, a dynamite cast and a storyline that will resonate with today’s audiences. Set in a location unlikely at first to seem very appealing, a small Maine county potato patch, it comes to life with great performances by Emory Cohen (Place Beyond The Pines), Callan McAuliffe (The Great Gatsby) and Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger, Game of Thrones).

Getting out of a small, northern Maine town or any depressed community is not easy. This story could just as easily have been set in rundown suburbs or a derelict section of a large city. It is the story of two friends, Casper (Emory Cohen) and Dominic (Callan McAuliffe), who desperately want to change their realities and have very different views of how to do it. Buying a hot car, leaving for the big city, it’s the dream of a better future that counts. Best friends as teens, does not always mean best friends for life. Casper tries to be a tough guy and has a knack for attracting trouble while Dominic is a dreamer.

Making bad decisions doesn’t end with the teenage years, and we soon discover this entire little Maine community is in someway or another scraping along using unsavoury methods to support their marginal lifestyles. Clayton (Aidan Gillen), Casper’s father, who is definitely one of the cooler guys around town, thinks he has outsmarted the system. Dreams of quick riches seem too good to resist and if cross-border drug smuggling is the answer, do it with style. The story so beautifully captures the innocence and gullibility of youth and its harsh awakening. Love is elusive, ‘just a harvest friendship’, loyalties will be tested along with the entire value system. The cast includes Sarah Sutherland (Emma), the girl getting out of town by going to college who catches Dominic’s eye; Holly Russell (Amanda) who pulls one of the oldest tricks in the female repertoire to try and hold on to Casper and Carrie Preston (Kim) a town girl already irreparably caught in the web.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Aussie actor Callan McAuliffe and New Yorker, Emory Cohen and since we are crazy ‘Game of Thrones fans’, meeting Aidan Gillen was an extra treat. See our interviews with them while in Toronto for the TIFF’13 World Premiere of ‘Beneath The Harvest Sky’. Catch this one in theatres.

Moira Romano