Exploring the challenges of co-parenting with an addict, the realistic Canadian drama Luba is topped off with a ticking time bomb finish. Luba (Nicole Maroon) is a struggling single mom whose estranged husband Donnie (Vladimir Jon Cubrt of Hannibal and Designated Survivor) is a crackhead. Donnie really loves his son, and Luba tries to let her son create some memories with his dad.
Unfortunately, Donnie is helpless to his addiction At his best, he is manipulative, sponging Luba’s last few discretionary dollars. At his worst, he is dangerously irresponsible. Then Donnie decompensates and goes lethally out of control.
In a futile attempt to make ends meet, Luba lives a hamster wheel experience, bouncing between multiple crappy waitress jobs and childcare that she can’t afford. Her only emotional and babysitting support comes from other busy moms and from Donnie’s sympathetic mother. Co-star Vladimir Jon Cubrt wrote Luba and completely captures the essence of Luba’s life – she’s trapped without any moment of relief or enrichment for herself.
Luba doesn’t have unrealistic expectations. She just wants to pay the rent on time, have some adult male companionship, and, being Canadian, play an occasional pickup game of ice hockey. Cubrt’s screenplay vividly brings alive another fundamental truth – the grinding impact of living with an addict’s roller coaster of self-sabotage. Luba’s attempts at moments of normality keep getting hijacked by Donnie’s selfishness. Repeatedly, respite suddenly turns into panic. This is Cubrt’s first screenplay, but he has written three original stage productions for the theater company he founded in Toronto.
Luba is the first feature for director Caley Wilson. This an authentic and relatable drama with an ending that works as a thriller. Cinequest hosts Luba’s world premiere.