Canadian filmmaker Kazik Radwanski’s fourth feature centers on two people with an irresistible attraction to each other—for better and for worse. Had Matt and Mara premiered in the 2000s, the film would probably have been characterized as mumblecore, since many of those low-budget efforts featured characters in their 20s and 30s, improvised dialogue, location shooting, and natural light. They also tended to be dialogue-driven, much like this one.
College friends Matt (Matt Johnson, who directed BlackBerry) and Mara (Deragh Campbell, both from Radwanski’s Anne at 13,000 Ft.) are the kind of literate millennials who have a lot in common, and yet they argue over the pettiest things. Mara, who lives in Toronto, is married to Samir (Mounir Al Shami), a musician with whom she has a young daughter. She’s just getting ready to teach a college creative writing class when Matt, who has been living in New York, drops by to see her while in town to visit his ailing father. He recently published a collection of short stories, whereas Mara hasn’t published anything in a while.
She finds his sudden appearance destabilizing. After class, at a coffee shop, they chat for a while before bickering with an exasperated barista who’s trying to close for the day. They can be pretty rude, though Mara tends to be less prickly with her husband, friends, and students. But when a passport photographer assumes the two are married, she doesn’t correct him. Then, at a dinner party, she admits she doesn’t really like music—an odd thing to say when your husband makes a living as a guitarist. Samir isn’t pleased, and his friends are confused. “I don’t really have an intellectual response to it,” she explains.
Over the next few days, Matt and Mara visit his dad in the hospital, attend a faculty party, and go on a road trip to an academic conference in Ithaca, NY, including a stop at Niagara Falls that turns briefly romantic. Mara also invites him to speak to her writing students. When not with Matt, she spends time with a female friend (Emma Healey) who finds the whole thing curious.
It’s clear Matt is interested in Mara, and that her marriage has hit a rough patch, but she almost seems more energized by the disruption he brings than by the possibility of a different path. Still, she becomes jealous when Matt has dinner with an attractive colleague at the conference. Despite the title, Radwanski consistently privileges Mara’s point of view, and the expressive Campbell says more through her body language than her words, which tend to be more thoughtful if less direct than Matt’s.
Instead of bringing them closer together, the road trip adds friction, and the lack of physical contact makes the situation no less emotionally intense. The ending is ambiguous enough to suggest a variety of possibilities. Though some viewers might find the characters off-putting as they dance around their desires, anyone who’s ever been in—or witnessed—a similar situation is likely to be more forgiving. Plus, there are only so many films about male-female friendships, and this is a particularly good one.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Matt and Mara would be a strong addition to drama collections in both academic and public libraries, particularly those that focus on independent cinema, Canadian film, or contemporary character studies. The film’s intimate style, focus on emotional nuance, and exploration of unresolved tension between friends make it a natural fit for curated collections on relationships, modern adulthood, and women’s perspectives in film. Libraries building their holdings of quietly resonant, dialogue-heavy dramas should consider this title essential for filling that niche.
What kind of film series would this narrative fit in?
This film would work well as part of a series exploring the work of Kazik Radwanski, whose naturalistic, often minimalist style has earned him comparisons to auteurs like the Dardennes and John Cassavetes. It would also pair nicely with films featuring Deragh Campbell, widely regarded as one of Canada’s premier actresses in the independent scene. Since her filmography spans dozens of shorts and features since 2013, including collaborations with Sofia Bohdanowicz and Matt Johnson, Matt and Mara could form part of a broader look at contemporary Canadian cinema and its recurring creative voices. The film would also fit well in thematic series on literary characters in film, platonic intimacy, or emotional ambiguity in relationships.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
Matt and Mara is well-suited for academic use in a variety of film, media, and cultural studies courses. In particular, it would support syllabi on 21st-century Canadian cinema, independent filmmaking, and gender dynamics in modern narratives. The film’s subtle visual style and focus on unresolved emotional tension also make it a good fit for courses on screenwriting, performance studies, or directing actors. It can spark discussion in literature or creative writing programs about authorial identity, gender in artistic spaces, and the intersections of personal and professional relationships. Additionally, students in Women’s Studies or Sociology might examine the film’s portrayal of female agency, marital dissatisfaction, and emotional labor.