One to see: Beautiful Kate (2009)
September 19th 2009 12:03
One thing that I've always loved about Australian filmmakers is that they frequently embrace subjects in their films that Hollywood producers wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. Beautiful Kate is one of these films. It's raw, it's aggressive, it's incredibly confronting and it's without a doubt the best movie I've seen this year.
This film was Rachel Ward's directorial debut, and received mostly excellent reviews from the nation's top critics - Rotten Tomatoes had it rated at 94% fresh at the time of writing. The storyline centres around Ned Kendall (played by Ben Mendelsohn), a middle-aged writer who has been long estranged from his family. As his father's death becomes imminent, he is asked to return home by his younger sister Sally (the always fabulous Rachel Griffiths), to his childhood farm in outback South Australia. Accompanied by his very young and brash fiancee Toni (Maeve Dermody), he makes the trip only to find that he is haunted by visions of his past, specifically, those of his deceased twin sister Kate.... and some very socially taboo shenanigans that the two of them took part in prior to her death.
If you think I was talking about incest, then well done, you got it in one. This is quite possibly the first film to deal with that subject in a non-moralising, and almost bittersweet, kind of way. Rather than being repulsed by the pair's actions, I found myself sympathising with them. I could see, given that they were growing up in extreme isolation, trying to figure themselves out and not having much guidance with which to do that, how that situation could have come about. I understood it, and it changed my way of thinking.... and isn't that ultimately the sign of a brilliant movie, one that can make you question the world you live in and question your own attitudes and social prejudices? Don't take my word for it though; this is really the kind of film that you need to see for yourself in order to decide.
What I really, truly loved about it was how Australian it was - not just with the cinematography (which, incidentally, was amazing) but with the lack of pretentiousness and clear acceptance of the real. The smoking, the swearing, the nudity, the dirtiness; I loved it all because it was so different to what we normally see on the big screen. There were a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments (Rachel Griffiths has a line that had the whole audience simultaneously gasping and snickering) and scenes that almost brought me to tears. Every single cast member played their roles to perfection, but the real scene-stealer is newcomer Sophie Lowe in the role of Kate; her performance was nothing short of breathtaking and I hope to see more of her in the future.
The score, developed and recorded by Tex Perkins and Murray Patterson, is a seamless fit for the raw and beautiful images on screen. All the elements of a brilliant film are here, but ultimately it's the story that sticks in the mind after the movie is over - it's so amazingly honest, so confronting and yet so... natural.... as to be quite unnatural indeed. Beautiful Kate moved me, and as such, I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't offended by harsh reality. It's definitely one to see if you're after something as far away from Hollywood as you can get. Here's the trailer:
Sophie Lowe as the ill-fated Kate
This film was Rachel Ward's directorial debut, and received mostly excellent reviews from the nation's top critics - Rotten Tomatoes had it rated at 94% fresh at the time of writing. The storyline centres around Ned Kendall (played by Ben Mendelsohn), a middle-aged writer who has been long estranged from his family. As his father's death becomes imminent, he is asked to return home by his younger sister Sally (the always fabulous Rachel Griffiths), to his childhood farm in outback South Australia. Accompanied by his very young and brash fiancee Toni (Maeve Dermody), he makes the trip only to find that he is haunted by visions of his past, specifically, those of his deceased twin sister Kate.... and some very socially taboo shenanigans that the two of them took part in prior to her death.
Ben Mendelsohn and Maeve Dermody
If you think I was talking about incest, then well done, you got it in one. This is quite possibly the first film to deal with that subject in a non-moralising, and almost bittersweet, kind of way. Rather than being repulsed by the pair's actions, I found myself sympathising with them. I could see, given that they were growing up in extreme isolation, trying to figure themselves out and not having much guidance with which to do that, how that situation could have come about. I understood it, and it changed my way of thinking.... and isn't that ultimately the sign of a brilliant movie, one that can make you question the world you live in and question your own attitudes and social prejudices? Don't take my word for it though; this is really the kind of film that you need to see for yourself in order to decide.
Mendelsohn and Bryan Brown, who plays Ned's dying father Bruce
What I really, truly loved about it was how Australian it was - not just with the cinematography (which, incidentally, was amazing) but with the lack of pretentiousness and clear acceptance of the real. The smoking, the swearing, the nudity, the dirtiness; I loved it all because it was so different to what we normally see on the big screen. There were a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments (Rachel Griffiths has a line that had the whole audience simultaneously gasping and snickering) and scenes that almost brought me to tears. Every single cast member played their roles to perfection, but the real scene-stealer is newcomer Sophie Lowe in the role of Kate; her performance was nothing short of breathtaking and I hope to see more of her in the future.
Scott O'Donnell as young Ned with his twin sister Kate
The score, developed and recorded by Tex Perkins and Murray Patterson, is a seamless fit for the raw and beautiful images on screen. All the elements of a brilliant film are here, but ultimately it's the story that sticks in the mind after the movie is over - it's so amazingly honest, so confronting and yet so... natural.... as to be quite unnatural indeed. Beautiful Kate moved me, and as such, I'd recommend it to anyone who isn't offended by harsh reality. It's definitely one to see if you're after something as far away from Hollywood as you can get. Here's the trailer:
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