Northern Borders

Northern Borders is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Jay Craven, and based on Howard Frank Mosher's novel of the same name. It stars Bruce Dern, Geneviève Bujold and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.

Plot
In 1956, Austen Kittredge is sent to live with his conservative grandparents in Vermont. Austen Sr. and his wife Abiah have lived together for fifty years, but they do not speak to each other directly and actually despise each other. Austen, called "Tut" by his Egypt-obsessed grandmother (the daughters are Nefertiti and Cleopatra) must do farm chores, even though he dislikes the idea. Austen goes to school and meets Theresa, whose family is poor. In addition to living amidst the conflict between his grandparents, Austen must deal with their reluctance to join the modern world, hoping they will overcome this.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on five reviews, with an average rating of 6.08/10." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Peter Keough of The Boston Globe wrote, "Craven's erratic tonal shifts from the whimsical to the sentimental trip up the episodic plot." Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times wrote, "The most interesting thing about the movie is its origin story."