LITTLE LORRAINE (TIFF 2025) – Review by Rachel West
An unbelievable true slice of Canadian history serves as the basis for the crime drama Little Lorraine. Andy Hines’ film tells the story of how a remote Canadian fishing village with 60 residents became a major hub for cross-border cocaine smuggling in the 1980s. Premiering at TIFF, the film is both enthralling and haunting, delivering a story of deception, morality, and community.
Adam Baldwin’s folk song Lighthouse in Little Lorraine inspired Nova Scotia’s Hines, a Grammy-nominated music video director, to create his feature directorial debut. Hines initially developed a music video for the song, which served as a proof of concept for the full-length film. Drawing from a wealth of real-life experiences, Little Lorraine is a compelling narrative that is both insightful and moving, brought to life by a talented cast.
Set amid the stunning landscape of Little Lorraine in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the film opens in the wake of a devastating 1986 mining explosion that claimed the lives of 10 men. Amidst the mine’s closure, Jimmy (Stephen Amell) is left jobless with a young family to support. His estranged and unreliable great uncle Huey (Stephen McHattie) reappears, offering Jimmy a position on his lobster fishing boat – an offer he is in no position to decline.
Swapping the dangers of the mines for the relative safety of the sea, Jimmy persuades his unemployed miner friends, Tommy (Joshua Close) and Jake (Steve Lund), to join him on the boat. Soon, they are earning unprecedented sums of money for their families and for once, things are looking up. However, as the saying goes, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Huey’s true intentions are soon revealed: the men are part of a cocaine smuggling operation, moving drugs from South America to Canada for North American distribution. The situation escalates when an Interpol agent (Colombian singer J Balvin) determined to dismantle the ring, arrives, setting the players on a collision course.
Little Lorraine is an arresting debut from Hines, with cinematography by Jeff Powers to bring the village to life. Archival footage of the era opens the film and is deftly used to not only set the tone, but tell the larger story outside of the village. Hines, who co-wrote the screenplay with Baldwin, rightly sets the story entirely within Little Lorraine. Like the residents, we are isolated from the greater elements of the story, the ongoing War on Drugs, and the international forces at play. By narrowing its focus, the film lets the personal struggles of its characters resonate more deeply.
A story that has become the stuff of legend, Hines anchors Little Lorraine in a very real family drama, focusing on the personal and tragic elements. By centering on Jimmy, a good guy caught in a bad situation, the film gains gravity. The desperation of the men and their families is palpable as the very existence of the mining community is threatened. Amell’s measured performance effectively conveys the weight of Jimmy’s predicament, offering a strong contrast to McHattie’s more scurrilous portrayal of Huey, a deceitful con artist and gambler. The fantastical narrative always remains grounded in reality, along with a strong supporting cast including Sean Astin, Matt Walsh, Rhys Darby, and Auden Thornton, which gives both tension and depth.
There are few faults with the drama, which does lose a bit of steam as the story reaches its conclusion, but nevertheless, maintains viewers’ interest. Ultimately, Hines debut transforms a forgotten chapter of Canadian history into a very human drama. Little Lorraine proves that reality can be stranger and more gripping than fiction, making it one to watch at this year’s festival.
