As the Toronto International Film Festival program put it when the film debuted there in September, Radiant City sets out to show that "there's something more desperate about suburbs than their housewives." This desperation lies in everything from the white boards on the fridge organizing after-school gymnastics and French lessons with military precision to the fact that the only room in the house facing the street is the one above the garage.


...When it comes to a final verdict on the suburbs, the atmosphere of "monoculture bizarreness" they create, according to Brown, and the future of the people who live there, the filmmakers — despite having shifted their perceptions of the suburbs — come down firmly on the side of city living.

"I think the suburban model is being driven by selfishness," Brown says. "Everyone feels entitled to their own home, to a front and backyard. This is my SUV and I'm burning as much gas as I want. There's some ignorance, but a lot of selfishness — a lot of selfishness. And this model's not going to be destroyed by writing articles in Atlantic Monthly or doing docs. The model's going to be destroyed when either there's no gas or it's too expensive to drive in from Oakville twice a day, five times a week. It is better downtown," he adds. "It is."