A Capital Menu…of Films
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The Capital Film Festival is well underway at Dendy, Canberra and the feast of films is delicious. Here’s a review of two to whet your appetite.
The brand-new film fest opened strongly, with Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.
This is the story of a widow wanting to understand and experience the breadth of sexual pleasure that was missing from her marriage and does so by hiring a male prostitute. It stars your goddess and mine, Emma Thompson. She delivers a master class in restraint, bringing sympathy and veritas to the fairly unlikeable character of Nancy – a retired religious studies teacher, who has imposed her puritanical views on sex onto her students for years without any real understanding of sexual pleasure herself.
Before you label this as worthy and boring, let me say it is not. It is hilariously, wryly or sadly funny in turns. Nancy’s perfect foil is the titular Leo, played by Daryl McCormack, a young Irishman who seems to open, caring and even proud of his job.
At times it is raw, and at others awkward. And it may suffer somewhat from being a COVID film – there are just 2.5 sets and 2.5 actors – but I didn’t feel it was claustrophobic. If anything, this kept the focus on Nancy’s journey, as we don’t see her life outside the anonymous hotel room, we only hear her interpretation of it.
Another COVID film in the festival has another stellar newcomer – and again, a handful of actors and limited locations – but it is a world away from the film above.
The scenery of Bosch and Rockit is worth the price of a ticket, even without the emotional journey of the story.
Made in and around Byron Bay it stars the other Hemsworth, Luke, who would be considered quite good looking in any other family but his. He plays a muscle-car-driving-pot-smoking minor drug dealer called Bosch and amazing newcomer Rasmus King plays his son, Rockit.
At just 16 Rasmus is already a professional surfer and is on his way to being a sought after actor. He also plays ‘Choc’ in Barons, if you are watching that series. The surfing scenes in this film are sublime because there are no body doubles, both actors do their own surfing and the director’s love of the ocean, the roll of a wave bring these scenes to glowing life.
Bosch is a single dad, Rockit’s mum having deserted them, and there is a real sense that he is making up this fathering thing as he goes, sometimes without much care for his child’s welfare. When his drug business is threatened, he takes Rockit on the run with him. Luke Hemsworth is excellent as Bosch and the confusion, fear and joy Rasmus brings to Rockit speaks well for his future onscreen. There is a real sense of family love generated between the two leads.
I loved this film.
Ros saw these films as a guest of Deny Cinemas and all opinions are her own.
