Adventure/Drama • PG • 94 Minutes • 2008
Too often, I find myself fighting between two invisible forces of time, either staring at the clock, watching the minute hand seemingly tick slower and slower, hoping some invisible spirit would just speed up the day so I can go home and kick back. And then there are some days when I stare at the clock and think to myself, if I leave right now, take my car and drive east, who would stop me? This question itself is a melancholic one at best, yet it’s the idea of running away and starting from scratch that I have always found appealing; leave behind any worldly possessions, change my personality, hell, let’s even go with a fake name, no one would know, right? Now, let’s take a step back. Daydreaming is all well and fine, it’s just an escapist game we play, but what if you suddenly find out your days are numbered and time is no longer on your side? Would that change things? Would you take the time to venture out and experience new things? Open yourself up to new people and circumstances you might otherwise brush off as an insult to your ego? This is what One Week, directed and written by Michael McGowan, explores in his road-trip drama.
One Week is the examination for the search for meaning as Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) is given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis with a life expectancy of a week, a month, or maybe a year. With his new perspective on the fleeting moments he has left, he decides to take a solo motorcycle trip on a 1973 Norton 850 Commando to clear his mind. However, what starts as a day trip turns into a road trip across Canada, from Toronto to Tofino, in an attempt to find himself and answer those life-long questions of who we are, leaving behind his fiancée, Samantha Pierce (Liane Balaban), to scramble for answers as she pauses their wedding plans.
Ben is a quickly recognizable character, and maybe even a bit cliché, as someone who doesn’t know what he wants but thinks he does. He wants to get married, have a simple life, and a boring job, because why? Because he had time. Now, time is running out, and he realizes that this is all there is. I can’t think of a more relatable feeling out there… at least for me; I’m sure there have to be others out there that feel the same way… right?
If I took a minute to reminisce back to 2008, the first thing I am struck by is the sobering reality that 2008 was nearly twenty years ago, and watching this film with its flip phones, Canadian alternative folk soundtrack and overall more analog way of living, the film washes over you in a nostalgic meditative wave; something that I can’t remember ever being but wish it was. At first, the alternative folk music felt like a gimmick to control the sombre tone of the film, but after I decided to lean into it, I was struck with the idea that back in 2008, I would walk around with my own soundtrack plugged into my ears from an MP3 player; this wasn’t my story, it was Ben’s. Growing up through the mid to late aughts, I can say that Canada had a unique culture of artists, culturally specific landmarks and a Canadian spirit that is purely represented in this film. As Ben drives across the country, he encounters many of those landmarks and stops to take photos, something I do whenever I see the largest hockey stick in Duncan, Vancouver Island, visit Banff, or come across some art installation in a city’s centre. We see Ben reflect on the Terry Fox Monument, meet Gord Downy (or Gord Downy playing a character who is exactly like Gord Downy?) and drive along field after field of seemingly endless and beautiful scenery.
There is so much to watch out there, and even more television, so why should you take the time out of your busy schedule to watch a film that may not be perfect, even a little cliché at times? Well, without getting overly sentimental, watching the film feels like drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate. With its melancholic tone and music selection, watching Ben travel from location to location across Canada tickles that travel itch and pinches the patriotic nerve that I too often take for granted. But maybe you don’t want to watch something just for the patriotism of it all. Maybe you just want to watch a film after a long day at work without having to do much puzzle-solving. All this film asks you to do is spend time with Ben, put yourself in his shoes (or motorcycle boots) and go with him on a journey. Allow him to make mistakes and think about what you might do differently, and cherish this bygone era.
Where to Watch
One Week was viewed via Crave.
Also worth checking: CBC Gem (often carries Canadian titles not listed elsewhere).
about the author
Merrick Gajdics is founder, publisher and editor of The Canadian Film Reviewer.