When Night is Falling (1995)

Patricia Rozema's romantic drama When Night is Falling is a rather conventional take on love and secrets. A teacher at a Protestant college falls in love with a girl who works at a carnival passing through town. What makes this film rather predictable is the travelling-carnival-outsider-plot, but also the way in which religious themes are developed. The problem is that the film builds on a simplistic dichotomy: there are the religious zealots at the college (including the teacher that has a crash on the protagonist) versus the free-spirited bohémes at the carnival who seem to lead lives that contain nothing but love and adventure. Honestly, we've seen it before. And no, adding a bit of exciting hang-gliding doesn't bring in a deeper level of subtlety. On the other hand, there are some good moments here and somehow I found myself engaged by the characters, at least to some extent. But beyond that, the movie contains far too many embarrassing scenes - embarrassing in the wrong way - and far too many instances of clunky dialogue.