Aurora Borealis

Play trailer

Aurora Borealis

R

2005

1h 50m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

38 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

IN his mid-20s, Minneapolis native Duncan Shorter (Joshua Jackson) still lacks direction in life, so when his grandfather (Donald Sutherland) falls ill, he takes a job as a handyman in his grandparents' residence so he can be near them. While there, he falls into a relationship with a free-spirited home-health nurse (Juliette Lewis) who can help him move toward self-realization.

Critics Consensus

Deeply reminiscent of other, better films, Aurora Borealis nonetheless succeeds on the strength of winning performances from Sutherland and Jackson.

Read Critics Reviews

John Hartl

Seattle Times

10/06/2006

2/4

Seems designed to reward Jackson with his biggest adult part to date, though it doesn't give the Vancouver, B.C., native a lot to work with.

Go to Full Review

Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

10/06/2006

2/4

Good Will Hunting but in the Midwest and minus the tortured math genius, psychological breakthroughs, and convincing local color.

Go to Full Review

Neva Chonin

San Francisco Chronicle

09/29/2006

2/4

Every bromide, plot twist and stock character arrives right on time and, to give director James Burke his due, function as well as they ever have.

Go to Full Review

Peter Calder

New Zealand Herald

09/01/2007

It's predictable and ultimately quite trivial, but Sutherland alone is almost worth the ticket price.

Go to Full Review

Felix Gonzalez Jr.

DVD Review

07/10/2007

What holds Aurora Borealis together is the complex and very realistic relationships between the characters.

Go to Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

05/10/2007

What looks like a goopy, disease-of-the-week movie about Alzheimer's turns out to be a surprisingly well crafted, beautifully acted movie.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

03/01/2014

cursed again; jackson couldn't emote his way out of a wet paper bag. did not could not support this film. lewis and sutherland did admirably well in picking up the slack.

See more

Frances H

02/24/2013

Aurora Borealis is a film that I didn't really like because it hits too close to home, to close to reality to the point that although it is well acted, I didn't find it really entertaining.

See more

04/22/2012

they use the song "everything is broken" as the theme and that sums it up

See more

02/09/2012

all star cast is the fuel that propels this family drama

See more

02/08/2012

I really liked this movie, the cast was good, it was a funny and good story told well. very enjoyable

See more

02/01/2011

Nothing much happens here, but it's rather endearing nonetheless.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

James C.E. Burke

Director

Joshua Jackson

Duncan

Donald Sutherland

Ronald

Juliette Lewis

Kate

Louise Fletcher

Ruth

Zack Ward

Lindstrom

Fierce People

24%

57%

Fierce People

Watchlist

Winter Solstice

61%

43%

Winter Solstice

Watchlist

Lost Angels

40%

66%

Lost Angels

Watchlist

Assisted Living

76%

82%

Assisted Living

Watchlist

10 Items or Less

64%

65%

10 Items or Less

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

IN his mid-20s, Minneapolis native Duncan Shorter (Joshua Jackson) still lacks direction in life, so when his grandfather (Donald Sutherland) falls ill, he takes a job as a handyman in his grandparents' residence so he can be near them. While there, he falls into a relationship with a free-spirited home-health nurse (Juliette Lewis) who can help him move toward self-realization.

Director: James C.E. Burke
Screenwriter: Brent Boyd
Distributor: Entitled Entertainment
Production Co: Entitled Entrtainment
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2005, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 2006
Release Date (DVD): Apr 3, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $60.6K
Runtime: 1h 50m