Colewell (2019)

In tiny Colewell, Pennsylvania, the residents gather at the post office for mail and gossip, while the days pass quiet and serene. That is until news comes that the office is to close, and beloved clerk Nora (a marvelous Karen Allen) is left to fight for her job and reflect on the choices she has made that kept her in Colewell for so many years. Touching, with a hint of melancholy, Tom Quinn’s eloquent film is an ode to small-town life and the quiet emotions that come with nostalgia and memories of the past. As fears arise around her future and her past becomes ever more present, Nora states, “I don’t want to be lonely,” but what that means is elusive. Colewell gorgeously captures rural America, while giving space to the beauty of time passing and reflecting on what determines a life well lived.