Devotion

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Filled with despair by the loss of her mother in a car accident, 11-year-old bi-racial Alice finds it hard to accept that her father Grant wants to start a new life. She resents their cozy new bungalow in small-town Ontario and longs for her mum. In Alice's recurring nightmares of the car accident, her dad's drinking is to blame for the crash. Grant's drinking problem also affects her waking life. Alice is emotionally withdrawn. In her predominantly-white middle school, and finds making friends difficult. Although her teacher, Ms. Anthony, tries to reach out to her, Alice feels isolated. One night, Grant passes out drunk while Alice is waiting for him to pick her up from Reading Club. When she gets home, she dumps a bucketful of cold water on his head in a rage. This moment is a revelation for Grant, who decides to quit drinking once and for all. Alice wants to believe that her father can change, but she is afraid because he has let her down before. Alice's memories of her mother are her only escape. The fact that her mum was white adds another layer of meaning to Alice's story. She experiences racism when taunted by white girls Vicki and Joanne. At the same time, she identifies with her mother and confides in Ms. Anthony saying "I'm not Black I'm brown." Melissa, the only other Black girl in school, picks up on Alice's attitude and rejects her initial attempts at friendship. When Grant brings home Kate, the young Black woman he meets in group therapy, Alice wants nothing to do with her. She resents her father's growing affections for someone new. When Kate needs a place to stay and Grant invites her to move in with them Alice is shattered. Alice makes it clear to Kate that she is not welcome. The predominant theme of the film is Alice's spiritual question: "Where do you go when you die?" Alice's mother appears in her memories and dreams doing yoga and meditation. When Alice asks Grant this question he says: "When you're dead, you're dead." She goes to her only friend Cameron for the Jewish perspective and to Ms. Anthony for the Catholic one. Learning about the various faiths is necessary for Alice, who is trying to forgive her father for being behind the wheel the night of the accident. This father/daughter story raises a question for each of them: Will Grant take responsibility for what he has done and put Alice's needs before his own? Can Alice find it in her heart to forgive him? The intimacy of 'Devotion' provides a moving portrait of a bi-racial girl's struggle to find her voice.