The latest film from Australians Nadia Tass and David Parker (Malcom, The Big Steal, Stark, Mr Reliable, Ricky And Pete and Pure Luck) works superbly in some respects and woefully in others.
A little girl (Amy Enker) sees her rock star father (Nick Barker from The Reptiles) die from electrocution on stage. She then seems to be unable to speak or to even hear others. Her mother (Rachel Griffiths) refuses to have her daughter taken from her by welfare and they hide out in inner city Melbourne. There they meet assorted misfits and desperates including a musician called Robert (Ben Mendelsohn).
These film makers enjoy adding a slight touch of surrealism to their movies, especially to the peripheral characters. In Amy this takes the form of stupid eccentrics, in particular singing policemen, which some may find the most appealing element of the film but which I found annoying; only a distraction from that which is so much more effective.
The dramatic aspects of Amy are particularly strong. Rachel Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn are two of our most emotive actors. The essential element of the film is the emotional pain the little girl and her mother are enduring caused by the death of a man they both loved dearly. Their grief is strongly portrayed.
The search by these two for a solution that may allow the daughter to escape her self imposed withdrawal from the world is poignant and demanded a film that steadfastly remained a drama.
Dad's electrocution, an utterly hateful paparazzi photographer and a helplessly crying young lad reeling from domestic violence and drunkenness are all I needed from Amy. The rest didn't fit at all.
It was also pretty unlikely that the little girl could sing so well, but hey, that's entertainment!
