Felicia’s Journey (1999)

• Year: 1999
• Released: 24 Nov 1999
• Country: Canada, United Kingdom
• Adwords: 5 wins & 14 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165773/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/felicias_journey
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/felicias-journey
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English, Irish Gaelic, French
• MPA Rating: PG-13
• Genre: Drama, Thriller
• Runtime: 116 min
• Writer: William Trevor, Atom Egoyan
• Director: Atom Egoyan
• Cast: Bob Hoskins, Arsinée Khanjian, Elaine Cassidy
• Keywords: series of murders, birmingham,

	7.0/10
	72/100
	88% – Critics
	71% – Audience

Felicia’s Journey Storyline

A lonely middle-aged catering manager spends all of his time studying tapes of an eccentric TV chef. Meanwhile, a young woman is making her way from Ireland to find her boyfriend, who moved to England to get a job in a lawnmower factory. On arrival, she makes an early contact with the caterer, who recommends a boarding room to her. Slowly, it is revealed that the caterer has in fact befriended and subsequently abused more than a dozen young women. He, of course, now sets his sights on this woman. Much of the story is told in flashbacks, revealing how each of the characters grew to the point where they now find themselves.—John Sacksteder

Felicia’s Journey Photos

Felicia’s Journey Torrents Download

Felicia’s Journey Subtitles Download

Felicia’s Journey Movie Reviews

Keep watching it until the very end if you really want to know what exactly is going on.

For as far as I know this was the very first movie that I’ve seen from Atom Egoyan. I had heard his name before and I knew that the movies he makes are often very good, but you just can’t see them all, can you? Still, I’m glad that I finally got to see one and I must say that I’m already a fan of his work. If his other movies are as good as this one, than I almost can’t wait to see those too.

The title “Felicia’s Journey” already tells something about what to expect from this movie. It tells the story of an Irish girl that is making her way from Ireland to England, to find her boyfriend who moved there to get a job in a lawn-mower factory. On arrival she meets a lonely middle-aged catering manager, called Hilditch, who recommends a boarding room to her. But Hilditch is a bit of a strange man. Even though he seems very nice and polite, he’s always alone and seems to spend hours on studying tapes of an eccentric TV chef called Gala. Gradually we learn that the man has a much darker side than what we and Felicia at first assume…

Even though he could easily have made a horror movie out of this subject or perhaps even worse, a TV-movie (it has something to do with having a bad youth, murder,…), Atom Egoyan has made the excellent choice of focusing on the drama and studying the characters with flashbacks. And by only slowly allowing the viewer to get some new information, rather than to give away everything at once, he builds up tension very well. But a good story isn’t enough to make a good movie of course, some fine performances by all the actors are needed as well. Despite the fact that I didn’t really know Elaine Cassidy (I only saw her play in “The Others” before), I must say that she is a pleasant surprise. She really did a very nice and convincing job with this role. The same can be said about Bob Hoskins. Him I know a lot better, but he too surprised me. He was so good in his role as Hilditch, that it took me quite some time to believe that it was really this man who did those horrible things.

Overall this is a very fine movie with some excellent performances and a very interesting story. I’m convinced that there will be several people who will not like it for several reasons, but personally I liked it a lot. For me it wasn’t too slow and I stayed focused from beginning until the end. And as this movie shows, you always have to be patient. Its power doesn’t lie in the beginning or in the middle. Only when it is finished, you’ll fully understand what has happened. That’s why I give this movie a rating in between 7.5/10 and 8/10.

Starts out slow but works to powerful conclusion

In an interview he did with Maclean’s last year(the Sept. 12 issue, I think, though I’m not exactly sure), writer-director Atom Egoyan talked about an incident in his life which partly explains why his last three films – EXOTICA, THE SWEET HEREAFTER, and now FELICIA’S JOURNEY – have been about very twisted, almost predatory, relationships. It seems when he was a teen, he fell in love with a girl who, as it turns out, was being molested by her father, and naturally, that caused all sorts of difficulties. Unconsciously maybe, in order to understand how anybody could do such a thing, maybe Egoyan has tried since to use film to do that(although I won’t state that as a fact; I’m no psychologist).

What is clear in FELICIA’S JOURNEY is that, for the first part of the movie anyway, Egoyan is clearly more interested in telling the story of Hilditch, the caterer who is more disturbed than meets the eye, than in Felicia, the young woman he befriends. If this were just a movie about Hilditch, maybe that would suffice. But in the novel by William Trevor this is based on, even though Felicia’s story is a familiar one(young, somewhat naive girl falls in love with boy her family doesn’t approve of, he leaves, she gets pregnant, and tries to find him), her story is of equal importance to the story of Hilditch, and Trevor is interested equally in both of them. The problem is Egoyan seems disconnected to Felicia’s story, even though Elaine Cassidy is quite good in the role, so not only does the story go slack there, we start to question, as you didn’t in reading the novel, how she could be so naive.

Eventually, though, when Felicia ends up staying with Hilditch and gradually learns about him, the terror of the story, and the fact that, thanks to Egoyan, we’re seeing her primarily through Hilditch, makes us care. And, as I said, Cassidy is quite good.

Of course, the movie belongs to Bob Hoskins as Hilditch. Hoskins doesn’t make the mistake of coming across as a sneering psychopath. Instead, he trusts us to make our associations from past roles of his(THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, MONA LISA) to realize there’s something bubbling under this mama’s boy, and concentrates on playing Hilditch on someone who genuinely believes he’s doing good deeds here, and just want to help. It also helps that Arsinee Khanjian, as Egoyan’s wife, is quite good, and funny, as the domineering mother; you may never watch cooking shows the same way again.

Egoyan also doesn’t make a conventional Hollywood thriller as the movie draws to its conclusion. What he substitutes is something which, admittedly, played out better in the novel because Trevor was able to stretch it out more, but it still chills you to the bone. One may wonder why Egoyan took to a genre piece right after THE SWEET HEREAFTER, but he reworks it into a movie which does resonate.

Where’s Johnny?

Joe Hilditch, the head chef for an industrial complex, is a remarkable cook. He runs the kitchen with a sense of propriety, striving to do the best job he can do. At his home, we watch him tuned to a television running black and white tapes following the intricate recipes showcasing Gala, a French cook. The tapes, evidently, are from a somewhat distant past. Joe follows the recipes exactly; he loves eating the creations inspired by Gala.

Felicia, a young Irish girl, is seen arriving in England. She is looking for Johnny Lysaght, her boyfriend, that according to her father, has decided to go to England to join the British army, something her old man holds against him because of a natural dislike for anything from the neighbor country. Felicity defies her father to go looking for Johnny. Fate brings Joe and Felicia together in such a strange way, she will be changed forever.

In flashbacks from the tapes Joe watches, we realize his relation to the television gourmet cooking lady. Not only that, but Joe is also fond of videotaping young women he becomes in contact with. Felicia, who has no clue as to what is going around her, is oblivious to Joe’s real intentions. Sadly, the story turns into something one sees coming, hoping Felicia is spared a terrible end.

Atom Egoyan, who adapted the original material, made a wonderful transfer of the novel to the screen. As he accomplished with “The Sweet Hereafter”, Mr. Egoyan, shows an affinity to the William Trevor’s text in a film that stays in one’s memory because of his marvelous take on the characters of the book. He remains true to the original work, expanding it for the big screen in a satisfying film.

Bo Hoskins has one of the opportunities of his career impersonating Joe Hilditch. As a matter of fact, the young actor chosen to impersonate the young Joe, bears an uncanny resemblance with the actor. Elaine Cassidy makes a wonderful Felicia, the young woman that does not have any idea of what she is getting into. Arsenee Khanjian, does a tremendous contribution as Gala, the television master cook whose program has been kept for posterity.

Atom Egoyan, one of the best Canadian filmmakers gets better with every new project he becomes involved in.