| Margaret's Museum | |
| Producer: | Marilyn A. Belec Steve Clark-Hall Claudio Luca Mike Mahoney Mort Ransen Christopher Zimmer |
| Director: | Mort Ransen |
| Screenplay: | Gerald Weller Mort Ransen |
| Music: | Milan Kymlicka |
| Cinematography: | Vic Sarin |
| Editing: | Rita Roy |
| Production Companies: | National Film Board of Canada British Screen Productions Ciné Télé Action Glace Bay Pictures Malofilm |
| Distributor: | Astra Cinema |
| Runtime: | 118 minutes[1] |
| Country: | Canada United Kingdom |
| Language: | English Scottish Gaelic |
Margaret's Museum is a 1995 Canadian-British drama film directed by Mort Ransen and based on Sheldon Currie's novel The Glace Bay Miners' Museum. It stars Helena Bonham Carter, Clive Russell, and Kate Nelligan. The film won six Genie Awards, including acting awards for Bonham Carter and Nelligan.
Set in the 1940s in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the film tells the story of a young girl living in a coal mining town where the death of men from accidents in "the pit" (the mines) has become almost routine. Margaret MacNeil has already lost her father and an older brother and for her, life alone would be preferable to marrying a mine worker—that is until the charming Neil Currie shows up. Against the wishes of her hard-bitten mother they marry, but, before long, financial woes lead to his doing what every other uneducated young man does in the town: take a job underground. His death in the mine, along with her younger brother, drives Margaret to a mental breakdown and, in her surreal world, she decides to create a "special" museum to the memories of all those who have died as a result of the horrific mining conditions.
Part of Margaret's Museum was filmed in the UK. It carried significance in the local area of Newtongrange, Scotland as the screen debut of local TV celebrity David MacBeath, who appeared as an extra in the film.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 ½ stars out 4.[2] He praised the cast and wrote Margaret's Museum "is one of those small, nearly perfect movies that you know, seeing it, is absolutely one of a kind."[2]
| Year | Ceremony | Recipient | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | San Sebastián International Film Festival | Best Film | ||
| Vancouver International Film Festival[3] | Most Popular Canadian Film | |||
| 1998 | Fantasporto Awards | Helena Bonham Carter | Best Actress | |
| 1996 | Genie Awards[4] [5] | Best Motion Picture | ||
| Mort Ransen | Best Achievement in Direction | |||
| Clive Russell | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | |||
| Helena Bonham Carter | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | |||
| Kenneth Welsh | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | |||
| Kate Nelligan | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | |||
| Nicoletta Massone | Best Achievement in Costume Design | |||
| William Fleming David McHenry | Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design | |||
| Vic Sarin | Best Achievement in Cinematography | |||
| Milan Kymlicka | Best Achievement in Music – Original Score | |||
| Mort Ransen Gerald Wexler | Best Screenplay |
In 2001, an industry poll conducted by Playback named Margaret's Museum the 14th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.[6]