Sweetie

Peculiar Kay steals her co-worker's boyfriend Louis which makes her a pariah at her bank. He plants a tree for their anniversary after 13 months and she secretly rips it out of the ground. One night, Kay's unstable sister Sweetie shows up to stay and brings along the very strange Bob. She has not been taking her medication and starts spiralling downwards.

Director Jane Campion creates these damaged people. Their dysfunction holds some interest but they aren't compelling characters. It's a lot oddities without the charisma to be compelling. The lead Colston hasn't done much acting after this movie. I can't feel for these characters and it's hard to root for any of them.

was ****ed up. This film was one of the strangest I've seen. Once again I admire Campion's courage to take art in a variety of directions. I was amazed by this film for no other reason than it's complete lack of boundaries. It was a fun ride!

Australian filmmaker Jane Campion's unorthodox daydream of family ties will likely infuriate more people than it pleases, defeating expectations as easily as it defies casual analysis. Describing it in any detail would only spoil the joy of discovery, for both the story and the idiosyncratic style of the film itself, which turns an already cockeyed domestic melodrama (introducing the oddball in-laws of an estranged young couple) into a sometimes grotesque but strangely compassionate portrait of sad, eccentric people living on the fringes of Down Under society.

Campion challenges the viewer's perception of what is or isn't real, using a portentous, artfully composed visual scheme, emphasizing in every shot her eye for geometry and deadpan comic detail. And then, mid-way through the story, along comes Sweetie herself to upset all the symmetry. Her younger sister calls her "a dark force"; her father treats her (affectionately) as the child she'll always be to him; and her mother, out of exasperation, simply walks away from all the subsequent turmoil. In a nutshell, Sweetie is the loose cannon in every family closet, and as played by newcomer Geneviève Lemon she's one of the more obscene and compelling characters ever to crash a movie scenario. Her story is, by turns, tender, pathetic, amusing, ominous, totally unique, and just plain weird.

This is one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen that deals with such dark issues. It focuses on two sisters, Dawn a.k.a. " Sweetie" and Kay, who both (as we see it) struggle with their psychological health. Kay seems somewhat conscious of, but at the same time unwilling to express her psychological problems. This seems to manifest itself in her sexual problems with Louis. Dawn, on the other hand, seems completely oblivious to the fact that she has problems, and seems to live her life freely and spontaneously. We see the interaction between these characters as a struggle between stifling repression and an out-of-control, externally-destructive unleashing of feelings. The film seems to reconcile these aspects until we reach some sort of balance at the end.

While the film deals with these serious subjects, it is in no way (as far as I'm concerned) a depressing movie. It's filled with comedy, which has been called "black comedy", but in my view the comedy itself doesn't have any heavy, negative under tones. The actress who plays Sweetie is an established comedian and her comedic acting is hilarious and convincing. Sweetie freely expresses herself, in ways that might seem childish to some, but are secretly ways we might like to act if it were accepted. Her character tells us that it's possibly to be so free and unfettered and survive, up to a point.

I love the scene where Sweetie's new, wasted "talent manager" boyfriend is taken to a cafe, by Sweetie's father, in order to get rid of him. At the table Sweetie's father begins to talk about how Sweetie "was such a talented little girl". The boyfriend then spontaneously falls asleep (he has some kind of sleeping sickness). At this point the father tries to remove the boyfriend's coat, which is actually Louis's (Kay's husband), and which they have been trying to get him out of for a long time. The boyfriend, still asleep, then falls to the floor dragging the contents of the table top with him, and ends splayed out on the floor in a baroque mess.

There are numerous comedic scenes like the one above, that weave in and out of the movies' main issues (i.e. control of oneself). Dawn's boyfriend, like Dawn (Sweetie), lacks control over his expression, in this case his actual, physical body.

To add to these delights, the movie is beautifully, artfully photographed and the sets are also artistically satisfying. The soundtrack includes beautiful African gospel. All-in-all, if you're receptive to emotions and understanding them, this will probably be one of the best movies you'll ever see.

"Sweetie" (Australian, 1989): Jane Campion is one of my favorite "newer" film makers. (See "An Angel at my Table" if you like this one!) She has a unique vision on life, and most every aspect of the film is hers - from concept and writing to the directing. Although the production values have a low-budget look, the stories are so good, and so powerful, you quickly overlook this weakness. "Sweetie" is the story of Kay, a highly neurotic young woman who is totally uncomfortable with the "everyday" world. Because of a tea leaf reading, she makes decisions that will greatly affect hers and others lives. Yep, she seems close to crazy. THEN her sister arrives - Sweetie, with a mystery man. Nope, things weren't crazy before… but NOW they are. They couldn't get crazier now. Then their parents come into the picture.