News location:

Canberra Today 25°/29° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Movie review / ‘Babyteeth’ (M)

“Babyteeth” (M) *** and a half

THERE’S not a kangaroo or koala to be seen in this Australian film that might have been made anywhere. It’s about people and events, designated on recognisable terms in a dramatic framework that people in any country or culture could readily recognise.

The principal character, early adolescent Milla (a lovely performance by Eliza Scanlen who barely out of her teens played Beth in Greta Gerwig’s production of “Little Women”) will not survive lymphatic cancer. She is the only child of psychiatrist Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) and concert pianist Anna (Essie Davis). That relationship appears at first sight to be less than comfortable but seems to invigorate as Henry tups Anna on the table in his consulting room. 

Henry and Anna get an unwelcome shock when Milla brings Moses (Toby Wallace) into the family circle. They have met on a suburban railway platform after he staunches a nose-bleed resulting from a sudden contact. Moses’ life is blighted from other causes. He’s into drugs. He’s unwelcome in a household already coping with the certain prospect of losing a daughter sooner than later.

“Babyteeth” offers a generous sprinkling of comedy to moderate our awareness of the inevitability of its underlying sadness. 

The four principal characters all give beautiful performances. I’m a fan of Essie Davis ever since “The Babadook” liberated her from the monotony of 34 episodes of Miss Fisher’s murder mysteries – the migration of Kerry Greenwood’s novels to TV was a grave disappointment.

There’s not much published information about writer Rita Kalnejais. She graduated from Victoria College of the Arts in 2001. Her plays have been produced on stage in the UK and the US. It seems that “Babyteeth” is her first screenplay. Hopefully, we will see more of her work.

“Babyteeth” is director Shannon Murphy’s feature film debut following short films and episodes in TV mini-series. 

Kalnejais’ screenplay needed all her skills to accommodate its episodic structure. “The Guardian” describes it as “a lovely, achey coming-of-age story that bursts with rare respect for its characters while tragedy peeks in through the curtains.” I wish I’d written that.

At Dendy and Palace Electric

 

Who can be trusted?

In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.

If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.

Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.

Become a supporter

Thank you,

Ian Meikle, editor

Dougal Macdonald

Dougal Macdonald

Share this

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Music

Cunio takes top job at NZ School of Music

Immediate past head of the ANU School of Music, Kim Cunio, is to become head of school at Te Kōki, the NZ School of Music, part of the Victoria University of Wellington, reports HELEN MUSA.

Follow us on Instagram @canberracitynews