Hold Fast

An often-poignant, smartly scripted journey, ably carried on the slim shoulders of a pair of young newcomers who appear poised for bigger things.

A workmanlike movie adaptation of Kevin Major's well-known Canadian young adult novel - a book compared by some critics to The Catcher in the Rye.

The classic coming-of-age story lives or dies on the strength of its on-screen protagonist. Thankfully, Hold Fast features a powerful performance by 14-year-old Avery Ash.

Young Avery Ash, however, is a strong presence who grows on you, and aside from one sequence, the skinning of a rabbit, the movie provides a smooth and untroubled transition to reconciliation. And Newfoundland never looked better.