Drama • NR • 91 Minutes • 2025
What sometimes looks good on paper doesn’t always translate to the screen with the impact and emotional depth you were hoping for. All the right intentions are there in Meadowlarks, but what’s strong in concept breaks down under the technical filmmaking and an all-too-familiar visual aesthetic championed by Hallmark films. However, the story Meadowlarks is telling is the interesting thread: Between the 1950s and 1980s, the Canadian government took Indigenous children away from their families in what is now referred to as the Sixties Scoop. I was always aware of the tragedy, but viewed through the personal lens of a family affected by the crime, the subject matter hits on a whole other level. Meadowlarks explores the same subject matter that co-writer/director Tasha Hubbard explores in her 2017 documentary Birth of a Family, but now has adapted it to the screen starring Michael Greyeyes, Carmen Moore, Alex Rice, and Michelle Thrush.
After being taken and displaced throughout the world during the 60s Scoop, four out of five siblings reunite for the first time since childhood to reconnect over the span of a week and reintroduce themselves to their brothers and sisters, addressing identity, loss and trauma.
Meadowlarks tries to carry a lot of its emotional weight, which Hubbard’s documentary explores, but fails to elevate the plot beyond its narrative. Much of the filmmaking, including cinematography, musical cues, and dialogue, fails in comparison to its subject matter, leaving in its wake an awkward soup of high emotion and a weak visual vision. It’s a tough juxtaposition when one of Canada’s largest film production sectors — the holiday Hallmark films — and Meadowlarks share the same visual language of flat lighting, wide-open depth of field, and soap opera sharpness that feels unnatural in a film that banks on its human story. Stripping away an intentional visual aesthetic and exposing the film to only scenes with dialogue-heavy emotional soliloquies ends up being more of a play than a cinematic experience. The glitzy sharpness attributed to the Hallmark aesthetic signifies a safe and recognizable aesthetic, but ultimately creates an unease. The visual language tempts you towards safety or even a comedic likeness, but when a character is having a crisis of identity in a gift shop or having to hold a brother in your arms suffering from uncontrollable emotions, it undersells these climaxes and flattens the whole film, placing Meadowlarks in this strange middle-ground between a sincere story and a made-for-TV special.
While much of the dialogue suffers the same lack of depth, Greyeyes, Moore, Rice, and Thrush carry the film beyond the limitations of the script and elevate their characters, showcasing what great performers can do with subtle nods and slight glances. Alex Rice’s confusion and loss of identity take a simple premise of a woman who identifies herself as Belgian, but only when she tries on Cree earrings does she question who she really is. It’s a strong scene which I wish the film had more of. It’s one of the few scenes where the dialogue doesn’t interrupt the scene with more noise. Hubbard allows Rice to react to the implications of what she has built up for herself over so many years away from Canada and so many years believing she was someone else, which cements the film’s entire theme in one scene that ultimately is the best scene in the whole film.
Ultimately, Meadowlarks‘ issues can be distilled down to confidence. The heart behind the film is there, no question, but there needs to be more than a good premise to make a strong film. Having a bold visual expression and a strong idea are two different things. If these two artistic elements had blended together, it would have felt more intentional in its choices instead of relying on its safe-for-TV qualities. The interesting and somewhat counterintuitive angle of Meadowlarks is that with a more restrained approach from Hubbard on-screen and an adjusted focus on the technical side, the actors could have built these characters into character studies about displacement and trauma.
Where to Watch
Meadowlarks 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.