Sigrid Thornton loves a challenge, which is why the perennial actor signed on to play an eccentric mother in an unconventional black comedy murder mystery, reports CASSANDRA MILLER. 

WHEN audiences first meet Sigrid Thornton’s character Vivianne Verity in the upcoming feature film “Slant”, she’s reaching for a box of bright red hair dye on a supermarket shelf.

“Don’t rush me, I need a change,” she tells her son, Billy Verity.

“What do you think? I’ll stand out in my audition, won’t I?”

Thornton like Vivianne has never shied away from reinvention, instead embracing it and seeking out new challenges as a way to explore her creative boundaries.

A fixture of Australian TV and cinema, the actor is drawn to that which lies outside of the orthodox, and “Slant” is anything but.

“I’ve tried to always keep moving in new directions because it’s more interesting, and I get to find out more about what I can do and who I am,” Thornton told AAP.

“I’ve been very fortunate because I have been given the opportunity to really play with quite a wide range of different sorts of characters.”

The feature film debut of director James Vinson, “Slant” pitches itself as a black comedy thriller which Thornton notes is not a genre “lining the shelves”.

It leans into the camp with Edgar Wright-esque whip-pans, heightened drama, cracking dialogue and loud costumes paying homage to the late 1990s when the film is set.

Thornton’s wine-skolling Vivianne is mother to main character Derek Verity, an unhinged journalist played by writer and producer Michael Nikou.

Derek is determined to publish an expose on a Melbourne murder mystery as the Verity family contends with their own dark secret, wading through deception and trauma in the process.

Thornton was drawn to Vivianne’s strength and neurosis when she signed on to the script.

The film comments on the media’s ability to take a “slant” or angle on any topic or situation quickly, as well as the ephemeral nature of the news cycle and the sensationalism within it.

“I read (the script) and thought, ‘it’s so hard to make a film or to write a film that’s genuinely unconventional’, and this was that,” Thornton said.

“It’s also a kind of Greek tragedy… commenting on how if you really look at every family, there’s dysfunction there.

“(It explores how the) inevitability of a blood connection doesn’t necessarily help the relationships to be better, but it’s a fundamental thing.”

Thornton lauds the film’s creators for pulling it together on a tight budget, and points to Nikou’s mother, a legal professional, who did the catering for “Slant’s” weeks-long Melbourne shoot.

“When there’s less money in the piggy bank, everyone has to get creative,” she said.

“A lot of favours were called in… (and) it was a very passionate group, all of us.

“We just adored each other. We became a family.”

Along with the film itself being unconventional, the filmmakers and cast are promoting “Slant” an unconventional way by hitting the road on an Australian screening tour to get the word out.

The tour starts with a Sydney premiere on July 26 before heading to Victoria, SA, WA and the NT.

“There’s a lot in the film to take away, but I really genuinely hope people are just entertained,” Thornton said.

“That’s the best result, if people can be entertained, intrigued, charmed and have a laugh.

“It’s got all those possibilities.”

The Queer Screen Completion Fund helped fund Slant, which is slated for national theatrical release in August.