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PRAISE | |
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GRADE: B+ | Is this love? |
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This fucked-up Australian romance captures its mood of downbeat directionlessness so well that it feels utterly true. Peter Fenton is Gordon, the low-key twentysomething whose life isn't really changed so much after all by his relationship with the horny and needy Cynthia (a terrific Sacha Horler), whose eczema-ridden skin bleeds to the touch. He gives her the semblance of love that she demands, and she introduces him to interesting new addictions. Nothing really unexpected, but adept storytelling, authentic characterizations and terrific performances (plus a brooding score by The Dirty Three) help pull the story out of been-there-done-that territory. Praise plays like a heartbreaking inversion of Leaving Las Vegas -- it's about the conditions we place on our affection, and the difficulty of holding ourselves together.
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Directed by John S. Curran Written by Andrew McGahan, from his novel Australia, 1998
Theatrical aspect ratio: 1.85 | |
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