Movie about finding happiness a dream come true for Nova Scotia author

HUBBARDS, N.S. – Nova Scotia author Lesley Crewe gasped with delight as the pretty house with the big country porch came into view.

For years, Ivy Cottage had only existed on the pages of Crewe’s 2005 debut novel “Relative Happiness.” And now here was the quaint bed and breakfast transformed into tangible reality for a feature film of the same name based on her book.

“I feel like I’m in a bit of a dream,” said Crewe, gazing around the set in Hubbards, N.S.

“I’ve been running around, smiling at people and hugging people and they have no idea who I am,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just very odd to see these people walking around — and I made them up. I just made them up. I feel like I love them all.”

The romantic comedy, which is also being filmed in Halifax with Newfoundland director Deanne Foley at the helm, tells the story of Lexie Ivy, an unlucky-in-love, plus-sized, 30-year-old woman trying to emerge from her sisters’ shadows while running a bed and breakfast in small-town Nova Scotia.

“Lexie is me, basically,” explained Crewe. “When I was growing up, I had a wonderful mother and sister, but they were thin. And I came along, and nobody knew where I came from.”

“Lexie has always sort of felt diminished by her sisters and how they looked and how they were,” she continued. “But … she’s the rock that everybody leans on.”

Australian actor Melissa Bergland is taking on the role of Lexie in her first lead performance in a feature film.

“It’s a really sweet story about realizing that gratitude for what you have can often lead to more,” said Bergland, a fiery redhead best known in her native country for her role on the TV drama “Winners and Losers.”

Bergland said she was drawn to the character of Lexie after seeing parallels to her own life.

“There’s a lot of things, I think, that society tells us we have to have and be, and we can’t be happy until we have these things,” she said. “And I think this (film) kind of blows all that out of the water.”

“Relative Happiness” also features a number of Canadian actors, including Toronto’s Aaron Poole and Johnathan Sousa, as well as Nova Scotia’s Molly Dunsworth and Susan Kent of Newfoundland. Robb Wells, better known as Ricky from the “Trailer Park Boys,” and Jonathan Torrens of “Mr. D.” also make cameos.

Filming is expected to wrap Nov. 21 with post-production taking place in Newfoundland before “Relative Happiness” hits the film festival circuit.

Foley said it was important to keep the film in Nova Scotia, though production costs were too high to shoot in Cape Breton where the novel is based.

“I’ve always been drawn to stories that have appeal universally, but still really rooted in a place,” said Foley, whose debut feature film was 2012’s “Beat Down.”

“We’re set in Nova Scotia and we’re proud of that, and we’re really showcasing this beautiful province.”

Foley said the story is a bit of a departure from the novel, but she believes it stays true to the spirit of Crewe’s work and her characters.

Crewe, who pitched in on the screenplay, isn’t worried. She said she believes the story she’s lovingly “adopted out” is in good hands.

“I think everybody will love it,” she said.