"It all seemed supremely perverse," says Carly Pope, the Vancouver-based actress who stars in one of the central roles in Larry Kent's The Hamster Cage. This is her response when asked what she thought of the screenplay upon first read. "I just really wanted to be a part of it. It's rare when filmmakers really push the boundaries quite like that."

Quite like that, indeed. The Hamster Cage, in which Pope plays a nubile nymphomaniac, eager to please her sugar daddy at a strained family reunion, is one of the more talked-about entries at this year's World Film Festival, and with good reason. With his latest film, Canadian film pioneer Kent is definitely out to push some serious envelope, presenting a tale of a twisted family who has a veritable army of skeletons in the closet - all of which will emerge by final credit roll.

The film opens as a son (Tom Scholte) and daughter (Jillian Fargey) return to their upscale childhood residence in B.C. for a reunion with their mother, father and uncle. It seems that dear old dad (Alan Scarfe) is to be awarded a Nobel Prize for his extensive scientific theorizing. In your average, run-of-the-mill family, this would be cause for celebration, but the clan at the centre of The Hamster Cage is particularly messed up, to put it lightly - instead of festive tributes, there are revelations about incest and plenty of violence. "For me, the challenge was to flesh out my character," says Pope. "She's the outsider coming in, she's not a part of this family. I had to ask: how manipulative is she? What does she want besides a sugar daddy?" And Pope is unequivocal in her praise of Kent. "Larry is amazing, the perfect helmer. He really had this incredible vision, and we all got very drawn into it."

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Source: http://www.montrealmirror.com