Reel Alternatives’ next movie on April 21 is The Stone Angel, the much-anticipated adaptation of Margaret Laurence’s landmark Canadian novel.

Ellen Burstyn stars as Hagar Shipley, a woman defined by the fierce pride she inherited from her father. Nearing the end of her life and refusing to yield even to mortality, Hagar’s mind conflates past and present as she makes a final grasp for independence, finding instead an unexpected and humbling reconciliation.

Facing the prospects of moving to a nursing home, Hagar bolts from her son’s house, determined to find a seaside home she remembers from her youth. Throughout this journey, chapters in her life coalesce and we come to know the radiant young woman —scion of her father’s mercantile empire — who is disowned when she marries the rough, bold Bram Shipley.

Romantic illusions soon dissipate and Hagar begins to think her husband is beneath her. Her disdain for him, exacerbated by discontent with her own unfulfilled ambitions, incites a hereditary flaw as she denies her children the parental approval she so desired from her father. In the present, Hagar finds her way to the seashore, but has little time left to amend a lifetime of unacknowledged mistakes.

Burstyn’s brave performance lays bare the paradoxes of a woman who caused immense damage to herself and others, yet was herself subject to her father’s tyrannical nature. The cast boasts some of Canada’s best young actors, including Christine Horne as the young Hagar and Ellen Page, of Juno fame. The movie is rated 14A.

Showing at the Capitol Twin Cinema at 7 p.m. on April 21, The Stone Angel is sponsored by Soul Sistas, who have made each purchased ticket valid for a free coffee at their popular wellness kitchen. Advance tickets are $7 at Muskoka Country Furniture and Gifts on Main Street, or $8 at the door if available. Upcoming movies in May include The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and The Band’s Visit. To see more about this non-profit group’s movies and projects visit reelalternativeshuntsville.ca.