Prisoner Queen

Offbeat black comedy of sorts stars Burns as a quirky, over-imaginative barista whose ageing former actress mother (Kuring, formerly 'Noeline' of the TV series 'Prisoner') discovers she has cancer leading him into an existential crisis.

There's some fun, somewhat macabre conflict between Burns and his selfish co-worker Stanton (who appears with her real-life mother Jill Forster in the next to last act), and then some poignant moments in which Kuring tours the cancer ward in which she's receiving treatment, sharing some lighthearted dialogue with an elderly patient in spite of their obvious struggles.

Former Mavis' lead singer Matt Thomas plays a transvestite in disconnected scenes whose context I didn't really understand, appearing whilst Burns - apparently in the midst of an acute emotional response to his mother's condition - aimlessly walks the city at night dressed in the prison guard costume worn by the officers who torment his mother's character in the aforementioned TV series.

It's all a bit baffling (surreal at times) and euphemistically, made on the scent of an oily rag which adds a certain underground quality which is both distracting and visually intriguing. Overall, it's quirky, kinky guerilla-style filmmaking bordering on home-movie which is at times endearing, although not entirely coherent.