Starring Leelee Sobieski, Tricia Helfer. Written by Robert Cuffley,
Jason Long. Directed by Robert Cuffley. (14A) 98 min. Opens Dec 7. See
Interview page 28.
An uneven but likeable comic thriller by Calgary filmmaker Robert Cuffley, Walk All Over Me got a ripple of buzz at TIFF in September when it was bought by the Weinstein Company, a rare achievement for a Canadian indie. Harvey’s keenness makes sense given the movie’s slick look and boisterous energy. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Cuffley’s film fully exploits the Amazonian appeal of the teen temptress in Eyes Wide Shut and Battlestar Galactica’s Caprica Six.
Leelee Sobieski plays Alberta, a luckless, smalltown lass who arrives on the Vancouver doorstep of Celene (Tricia Helfer), her former babysitter and now a professional dominatrix. When Alberta tries to see if she too can whip it good, she ends up caught between some bad guys and a bag of stolen money. Though Sobieski’s too tentative to give the movie the centre of gravity it needs, Walk All Over Me has plenty of forward momentum and a good balance of dark and funny. Helfer, Lothaire Bluteau and Ross McMillan all make the most of their supporting turns, which is no small thing considering the restrictive nature of fetish gear.