Punch (2002 film)

Punch
Directed byGuy Bennett
Written byGuy Bennett
Produced byStephen Hegyes
StarringMichael Riley
Sonja Bennett
Meredith McGeachie
CinematographyGregory Middleton
Edited byRichard Schwadel
Music byJames Jandrisch
Production
company
Brightlight Pictures
Distributed byThinkFilm
Release date
  • September 10, 2002 (2002-09-10) (TIFF)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Punch is a Canadian dark comedy film, directed by Guy Bennett and released in 2002.[1]

Plot

The film stars Michael Riley as Sam Frizzell, a widowed single father in Vancouver, British Columbia whose desire to find a new partner is complicated by his daughter Ariel's (Sonja Bennett) jealousy of any new woman in his life. However, when Ariel physically attacks Sam's newest love interest Mary (Marcia Laskowski), Mary's sister Julie (Meredith McGeachie), a lesbian professional boxer, comes to her sister's defense.[2] The film's cast also includes Vincent Gale, Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Don Ackerman and Sarah Lind.

Production

The role of Ariel was suggested to Guy Bennett by a producer, who pointed out that casting his own daughter would provide useful publicity for the project. Sonja Bennett auditioned and was cast, a process she has since characterized as straightforward nepotism, though the filmmakers first wanted assurance that she could carry the role.[3]

Guy Bennett excused himself from the set when they shot the more revealing scene in which his daughter Sonja Bennett is sitting naked on a bed with her legs apart in an attempt to seduce her tutor, and watched from a monitor in another room. But the idea of putting his daughter in this vulnerable position never gave him pause for a moment. "Everything is subservient to the drama," he explained.[4]

Awards

At the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2002, Bennett won for Best Actress in a Canadian Film and McGeachie won for Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film.[5] McGeachie received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 24th Genie Awards.[6]

Legacy

Punch's premiere at TIFF led to Sonja Bennett being approached by Fox Television, a development she has credited with launching her subsequent television career.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Punch packs humour, takes some risks". Vancouver Sun, February 7, 2003.
  2. ↑ "Blow by blow girl saga" Toronto Star, February 7, 2003.
  3. ↑ Furminger, Sabrina (13 January 2020). "Episode Fifty-Two: Sonja Bennett". YVR Screen Scene. 14:16. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Family dynamics". The Globe and Mail. 11 February 2003. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Vancouver Film Critics Circle pick best of 2002". Nelson Daily News, January 31, 2003.
  6. ↑ "Genie comes out with more pizzazz". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 1, 2004.
  7. ↑ Furminger, Sabrina (13 January 2020). "Episode Fifty-Two: Sonja Bennett". YVR Screen Scene. 15:33. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
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