In the introduction to Nick, Michael Farris-Smith talks about his relationship with its “source material”, the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. That relationship shifted over the years and his response to that novel changed as he grew and changed. As this happened the character who he found himself most fascinated with was…
Finding your place in the world is hard enough for most. But when dealing with teen angst and sexuality, it can be harder still. Writer/director Kerem Sanga (The Young Kieslowski) explores these fraught issues in First Girl I Loved. Anne Smith (Dylan Gelula – TV’s Casual) is a bright high school senior. She’s best friends with a…
Javier Bardem seems like Spain’s equivalent of Hugh Jackman. Despite being an international superstar, he still finds time to appear in productions from his homeland. So after his recent appearance in the sci-fi epic Dune, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that his next appearance is in a small Spanish film set in a…
In 2009, Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for his remarkable performance as the Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. Now, Joaquin Phoenix is destined for the 2020 Academy Awards in a similar guise, as the lead in Todd Phillips’ crime-thriller Joker. This is an unusual origin story set in the early 1980s. Joker…
I had forgotten that Tartuffe was written in rhyming couplets so it was a surprise to the ears when the show opened and it took a few minutes to adjust. But the text was so brilliantly written by Justin Fleming that it was like listening to Dr Seuss for grown-ups. With some neat little modern…
Partly drawn from the life of its Pulitzer Prize winning American writer Paula Vogel, Mother Play is theatre at its finest. It is a play about a lack of acceptance, about hurt and pain, courage and love in its many hues. It is a work built on recollections, those of the daughter in the piece,…
This new film from three time Oscar winning director Ang Lee is a bit of a disappointment given his impressive resume that includes Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the heartbreaking gay romance Brokeback Mountain, and the visually impressive Life of Pi. Based on the acclaimed 2012 novel written by Ben Fountain, and adapted by first time…
First, a confession. I don’t believe I’ve seen any of the films in the Saw franchise before Jigsaw, the eighth in the series. The seventh, Saw 3D, came out in 2010. To date, the Saw films have grossed $874 million worldwide. And they’ve created one of the most influential horror villains of all time. The films follow…
The 27th Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled its program. BIFF presents a Brisbane-wide program of international festival favourites, Australian content, award-winners and critical darlings over 11 packed days from 21 to 31 October 2021. The program this year includes 81 feature films – including 4 world, 26 Australian and 33 Queensland premieres –…
Scheming and passion abound in Melbourne Shakespeare Company’s Cleopatra & Antony. Based on the Shakespearean tragedy Antony and Cleopatra, written about 1606, it concerns power and politics, but is a deeply personal story. Set during the final years of the Roman Republic, the 13-strong cast throws itself headlong into the desire and subterfuge that drive…
