Margaret's Museum

Margaret's Museum
Directed by	Mort Ransen
Screenplay by	Gerald Weller Mort Ransen
Based on	The Glace Bay Miners' Museum by Sheldon Currie
Produced by	Marilyn A. Belec Steve Clark-Hall Claudio Luca Mike Mahoney Mort Ransen Christopher Zimmer
Starring	Helena Bonham Carter Clive Russell Kate Nelligan
Cinematography	Vic Sarin
Edited by	Rita Roy
Music by	Milan Kymlicka
Production companies	National Film Board of Canada British Screen Productions Ciné Télé Action Glace Bay Pictures Malofilm
Distributed by	Astra Cinema
Release date	13 September 1995 (1995-09-13)
Running time	118 minutes
Countries	Canada United Kingdom
Languages	English Scottish Gaelic

Margaret's Museum is a 1995 Canadian-British drama film directed by Mort Ransen and based on Sheldon Currie's novel The Glace Bay Miners' Museum. It starts Helena Bonham Carter, Clive Russell, and Kate Nelligan. The film won six Genie Awards, including acting awards for Bonham Carter and Nelligan.

Plot

Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the film tells the story of a young girl living in a coal mining town where the death of men from accidents in "the pit" (the mines) has become almost routine. Margaret MacNeil has already lost her father and an older brother and for her, life alone would be preferable to marrying a mine worker—that is until the charming Neil Currie shows up. Against the wishes of her hard-bitten mother they marry, but, before long, financial woes lead to his doing what every other uneducated young man does in the town: take a job underground. His death in the mine, along with her younger brother, drives Margaret to a mental breakdown and, in her surreal world, she decides to create a "special" museum to the memories of all those who have died as a result of the horrific mining conditions.

Cast

• Helena Bonham Carter as Margaret MacNeil
• Clive Russell as Neil Currie
• Craig Olejnik as Jimmy MacNeil
• Kate Nelligan as Catherine MacNeil
• Kenneth Welsh as Angus MacNeil
• Andrea Morris as Marilyn

Production notes

Part of Margaret's Museum was filmed in the UK. It carried significance in the local area of Newtongrange, Scotland as the screen debut of local TV celebrity David MacBeath, who appeared as an extra in the film.

Critical reception

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 ½ stars out 4. He praised the cast and wrote Margaret's Museum "is one of those small, nearly perfect movies that you know, seeing it, is absolutely one of a kind."

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Recipient	Category	Result
1995	San Sebastián International Film Festival		Best Film	Won
	Vancouver International Film Festival		Most Popular Canadian Film	Won
1998	Fantasporto Awards	Helena Bonham Carter	Best Actress	Won
1996	Genie Awards		Best Motion Picture	Nominated
		Mort Ransen	Best Achievement in Direction	Nominated
		Clive Russell	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated
		Helena Bonham Carter	Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role	Won
		Kenneth Welsh	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role	Won
		Kate Nelligan	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role	Won
		Nicoletta Massone	Best Achievement in Costume Design	Won
		William Fleming David McHenry	Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design	Nominated
		Vic Sarin	Best Achievement in Cinematography	Nominated
		Milan Kymlicka	Best Achievement in Music – Original Score	Won
		Mort Ransen Gerald Wexler	Best Screenplay	Won

In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named Margaret's Museum the 14th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.

External links

• Margaret's Museum at IMDb
• Margaret's Museum at Rotten Tomatoes