Raine Maida, left, and Chantal Kreviazuk star in I'm Going to Break Your Heart.
- I Am Going to Break Your Heart
- Directed by: Annie Bradley and Jim Morrison
- Starring: Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida
- Classification: PG
- 90 minutes
The documentary centres on the couple's recent marital discord.
The press release on the unfortunate documentary I Am Going to Break Your Heart describes the late-1990s union of musicians Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida as a romance between Canada’s “beautiful young rock royalty.” Only a couple who believed that nonsense would be so self-absorbed as to think anyone would be interested in watching a documentary about their recent marital discord. And maybe people would be interested, if the film wasn’t so hackneyed and confusingly structured.
On the advice of their marriage counsellor – definitely not a travel agent – the couple take a winter trip to France’s frozen Saint Pierre Island off the coast of Newfoundland to work on songs and their relationship. The linking of those two things is the film’s simple conceit. In between brutal songwriting arguments – Maida comes off as a jerk, but he’s right about a contentious pre-chorus – we see enough clips of rough seas to make us want to hurl ourselves headlong into the metaphor, the sure drowning bringing sweet relief.
And while the titular duet ends up being gorgeous, the documentary attached to it will crush more empathetic souls than it will break any hearts.
I Am Going to Break Your Heart opens May 24, the same day as its digital and VOD release.
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Brad Wheeler