Judy and Punch. (15.)
Directed by Mirrah Foulkes.
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman, Benedict Hardie, Virginia Gay, Eddie Baroo, Tom Budge. 106 mins.
In the 17th century village of Seaside, “somewhere in the countryside, nowhere near the sea,” Mr Punch (Herriman) is trying to revive his showbiz career with a knockabout puppet show – strings, not socks – ably assisted by his wife Judy (Wasikowska.) When it comes to marionette entertainment, Punch knows his audience: the locals “like punchy and smashy.”
Bawdy, brash and original, this Australian production gets off to a very good start. The only potential flaw is an intimation of predictability. Early on we see three women being stoned to death for various acts of witchcraft – having a suspicious rash, staring at the moon for too long – all reported by their husbands. This is followed by scenes of Judy performing some magic tricks for a group of children and of some discord in their marriage as Punch reacts badly to her insistence that he keep his promise to give up drinking. A clear narrative path seems to be stretching out before us, until about a third of the way through, when a radical and shocking event throws all that out the window.
This particular moment is a black comedy set-piece so abrupt and horrific that it dares you to laugh at it. The film is at its best in its first half when it is having fun with its ideas. It has a rascally nature and seems capable of anything. In the second half though that slips away and it becomes a more straightfaced; it has a bit of lesson that it wants to teach us about patriarchy and scapegoating outsiders. Worst of all the film is let down by two or three horrible minutes just before the end that fritter away a lot of the goodwill it has built up.
This is a real shame because it has a lot going for it including a potential breakthrough performance from Dan Herriman, an Australian actor who appears to be on the verge of international recognition. He is also prominent in The Nightingale which is out next week and he's very good in both. He looks more like Colin Firth than an actor who specialises in playing Charles Manson (Mindhunters on TV and Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...) has a right to.
Directed by Mirrah Foulkes.
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman, Benedict Hardie, Virginia Gay, Eddie Baroo, Tom Budge. 106 mins.
In the 17th century village of Seaside, “somewhere in the countryside, nowhere near the sea,” Mr Punch (Herriman) is trying to revive his showbiz career with a knockabout puppet show – strings, not socks – ably assisted by his wife Judy (Wasikowska.) When it comes to marionette entertainment, Punch knows his audience: the locals “like punchy and smashy.”
Bawdy, brash and original, this Australian production gets off to a very good start. The only potential flaw is an intimation of predictability. Early on we see three women being stoned to death for various acts of witchcraft – having a suspicious rash, staring at the moon for too long – all reported by their husbands. This is followed by scenes of Judy performing some magic tricks for a group of children and of some discord in their marriage as Punch reacts badly to her insistence that he keep his promise to give up drinking. A clear narrative path seems to be stretching out before us, until about a third of the way through, when a radical and shocking event throws all that out the window.
This particular moment is a black comedy set-piece so abrupt and horrific that it dares you to laugh at it. The film is at its best in its first half when it is having fun with its ideas. It has a rascally nature and seems capable of anything. In the second half though that slips away and it becomes a more straightfaced; it has a bit of lesson that it wants to teach us about patriarchy and scapegoating outsiders. Worst of all the film is let down by two or three horrible minutes just before the end that fritter away a lot of the goodwill it has built up.
This is a real shame because it has a lot going for it including a potential breakthrough performance from Dan Herriman, an Australian actor who appears to be on the verge of international recognition. He is also prominent in The Nightingale which is out next week and he's very good in both. He looks more like Colin Firth than an actor who specialises in playing Charles Manson (Mindhunters on TV and Tarantino's Once Upon a Time...) has a right to.
