Effects of Downsizing Seen in Poignant ‘Fish’
A fishing town since way back, Gloucester, Mass., is a place so connected to the water that the Virgin Mary atop the local Catholic church cradles not the infant Jesus but a baby boat. So what happens when depletion of the fish stock leaves companies like North Shore Fish with nothing to process but frozen bricks of the stuff shipped in from and then sent back to Japan?
The downsizing era’s emotional toll is poignantly depicted in Israel Horovitz’s adaptation of his stage play “North Shore Fish,” debuting at 9 p.m. Sunday on Showtime with a cast that includes Mercedes Ruehl, Peter Riegert and Tony Danza.
Morning arrives in idyllic pinks and blues as the camera skims across the water in the title sequence, but as the plant’s remaining skeleton crew arrives for the day, they sense choppy seas ahead.
Plant manager Sal (Danza) hurries around barking orders when he’s not having nervous confabs with his extramarital girlfriend, Florence (Ruehl). North Shore Fish is about to be sold unless it can turn a profit, and the new government inspector on her way to the plant could either help keep them open or put them all out of work.
Meanwhile, the mostly female employees shoot the breeze as they operate the line--often reminiscing about the old days, when children, as a matter of course, followed their parents into the business and spent the rest of their lives working side by side. Florence’s mom was abruptly laid off after 31 loyal years, but one mother-daughter team remains: prim and motherly Arlyne (Carroll Baker) and the very pregnant Ruthie (Cordelia Richards).
When Florence, in a fit of frustration, declares, “The fish business has had it,” Arlyne--good Catholic that she is--hurriedly crosses herself and replies: “Businesses have their ups and downs. It’s just that the fish business has fewer ups and more downs, that’s all. We are fish people. We’re doing what we were born to do.”
Gently directed by Steve Zuckerman and acutely performed by the ensemble cast, “North Shore Fish” ends conventionally, yet brings on a tide of saltwater tears nevertheless. It’s a grim corollary to the story, however, to read in the closing credits that the movie was filmed in Toronto. Once again, work has been pulled out of Gloucester.
* “North Shore Fish” can be seen at 9 p.m. Sunday on Showtime. The network has rated it TV-14 (may not be suitable for children under 14).
