Ville-Marie (Canada)  

A jolting start sets in motion a collection of four colliding stories, but Ville-Marie flirts with inertia due to a glum obsession with injury, estrangement, and grief.

The most fully realized tale involves a renowned European actor whose reticence to identify for her gay son his real father remains a wedge between them. Less developed are a paramedic suffering from PTSD who finds distant support from an overworked nurse, herself haunted by past tragedies.

Nonetheless, evenly balanced performances and thoughtful direction keep the momentum going.