Those bumps in the road can inspire some pretty great stuff…

Working together can be rough for spouses, especially when they are a part of the creative process.  I’m Going To Break Your Heart is a simple but ultimately beautiful breakdown of what can come out of an emotional bump in the road for a couple and it shows how even those who are supposed to be in touch with their emotions and use it to tell stories can have a blind spot when it comes to those they love the most.

Their romance made headlines as Canada’s beautiful young rock royalty, but nearly two decades and three children later, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) and Chantal Kreviazuk struggle–like most people–with their relationship. I’m Going to Break Your Heart captures the raw and wrenching journey these renowned singer-songwriters took to find their way back to each other. Filmed on France’s isolated but romantic Saint Pierre et Miquelon island in the dead of winter, the documentary immerses viewers in their musical relationship, even as it exposes long-standing wounds and unresolved heartache. Ultimately, I’m Going to Break Your Heart is the true story of rediscovering love through creativity, in which music plays the lead role.

Rock royalty are people too, and in I’m Going To Break Your Heart we get to see not only the honesty of marriage but also the honesty of a creative partnership that needs a minute to appreciate one another.  This isn’t a film about conflict or even about song writing, it’s about how the fact that once in a while in any kind of relationship that you might be involved in over time, you need a minute to stop and genuinely appreciate the person you’re with in order to not only get the best out of them but yourselves as well.

Directors Annie Bradley and Jim Morrison come together in a very slight but fascinating way as we get to see two people who can easily pour their hearts out to one another while working on a song, but it’s scary when it’s something they need to do at home.  The film never had a real sense of danger like they we’re going to break up or anything like that but it actually works in the films favor.  Film rarely shows the experience of needing a tune-up as it were and stories like this in the past have either resulted in separation or some dramatic swerve to keep them together.  The film keeps its power in the quiet moments, which makes it all the more emotional and impactful.

Both Maida and Kreviazuk are very likeable subjects and as the film builds with it building the song that we finally hear at the end, you can’t help but get some Goosebumps.  Not only because it’s a damn good song but because we got to see the love, appreciation and comprise from both of them to make it all come together.

It’s a fact of nature that as a species, we’re always strong together then we are a part, no matter the walk of life that you take part in and I’m Going To Break Your Heart reminds us all that without a little maintenance for our partners and friends in our life, the title of this film will become eerily accurate words, because it might actually happen.  This is film making at it’s finest and it’s Canadiana to boot.

I’m Going To Break Your Heart is now playing at the Carlton here in Downtown Toronto and is available on iTunes.