Based on the beloved Canadian novel written by Margaret Laurence and published in 1964, The Stone Angel spans several decades in the unconventional life of feisty nonagenarian Hagar Shipley, who sets off on a journey to reconcile herself with her past when she discovers her son Marvin and daughter-in-law Doris are moving her into a nursing home. In a crumbling house she had lived in when she was first married, Hagar recalls her estrangement from her father, a wealthy Manitoba shopkeeper who disowned her when she married farmer Bram Shipley. Despite her defiance, she considered herself superior to her husband, and treated him callously as their relationship disintegrated and he became an alcoholic. Her younger son John, her favorite, eventually broke her heart bybecoming involved with Arlene, a wild girl of whom she disapproved.

Now in hiding, Hagar meets Leo, who enables her to confront the one secret she feels she must take to her grave, namely the role she played in John’s death. No longer able to repress her emotions, she realizes the bad decisions and misjudgments she made throughout her life were a result of her resolute stubbornness, and eventually she is able to find closure with Marvin. (2007) Stars Ellen Burstyn, Sheila McCarthy, Christine Horne, Ellen Page and Kevin Zegers.