Based on the novel by Joan Clark, the critically acclaimed “An Audience of Chairs” centers on a bipolar concert pianist with two children and a husband who places his career above hers. Maura Mackenzie (Carolina Bartczak) struggles with depression and an obsession to practice her craft. We see why in flashbacks showing her stern mother driving her to perfection. Maura initially learns her craft on a painted wooden keyboard then long hours on a piano by metronome.
Trying to prepare for an important concert, Maura is constantly interrupted. Her playful children argue, a friend asks her to watch her little girl, and her father stops by often, insisting she should pay more attention to things other than music. One wonders how she has become so accomplished.
Her need to practice begins to take its toll when she absent-mindedly causes a fire in her back yard. Things get worse when she leaves her girls and a friend’s daughter alone on an island. Her friend calls her unstable and her husband Duncan (Chris Jacot) appears ready to leave her. Duncan is no prize, a selfish jerk chasing stories around the globe, leaving Maura to handle everything domestic.
It’s no surprise when Maura reaches a breaking point. Unable to function as a parent, she takes her father’s advice and seeks professional help. Released from a psychiatric ward six months later, she appears fully recovered. But during a walk in the woods, she slips and falls, twists her ankle and misses her daughters’ visitation. Cruel Duncan isn’t interested in her excuses and refuses to even look at her injury. She suffers from one of many panic attacks.
Duncan seizes on Maura’s missteps and files for divorce, seeking full custody of the children. This sends Maura into despair and another panic attack. She takes a bus down the coast and heads to the beach. There, she tries to drown herself in the same wharf where her mother committed suicide. After wandering knee-deep in water, truck driver Ben (Gord Rand) drags her out and they form a lasting, loving relationship. She decides that her children will be better off without her and agrees to give Duncan full custody.
Two decades later, she reads about her daughter Bonnie, who is giving a speech on environmental issues. At the conference, Bonnie fails to recognize her. This sends her into a deep melancholy. Sometime later, she learns that Bonnie is getting married. Deathly afraid that her daughters won’t recognize her at the wedding, she devises a plan that will reveal her presence without having to directly confront them.
Will it work? Will she suffer a panic attack and leave? Will her daughters recognize her—want to recognize her?
“Audience of Chairs” offers a warm and heartfelt look at motherhood. It delves into the sacrifices made by emotionally damaged women who care for their children. It also offers a glimpse into how fathers often neglect the needs of their wives and children. Sweeping scenes of Newfoundland’s stunning seashores and windswept hills accent the mood and scope of this drama.
The pacing is a bit slow and the ending is somewhat predictable. That said, “Audience of Chairs” poignantly underscores how parents struggle with careers, their upbringing, and placing high expectations on their children.
Alex A. Kecskes is a published author of "Healer a Novel" and "The Search for Dr. Noble"—both now available on Amazon. He has written hundreds of film reviews and celebrity interviews for a wide variety of online and print outlets. He has covered red carpet premieres and Comic-Con events for major films and independent releases.
