BABYTEETH
****
Director: Shannon Murphy
Screenwriter: Rita Kalnejais
Principal cast:
Eliza Scanlen
Toby Wallace
Ben Mendelsohn
Essie Davis
Emily Barclay
Eugene Gilfedder
Country: Australia
Classification: M
Runtime: 118 mins.
Australian release date: 23 July 2020.
Babyteeth is the first dramatic feature film from Shannon Murphy, a director who’s been working in TV on high-profile series like Love Child, Offspring and Rake since 2017. She has also directed a couple of eps of the third season of Killing Eve, so it’s interesting that she chose this oddball script for her movie debut. One imagines it would have been easy for her to stay in the warm embrace of television. Babyteeth deals with material that could so easily have gone off the rails, mixing what is, at its heart, a really tragic story about a young girl with cancer and an almost comedic family drama about worried parents trying to stop their daughter’s budding romance with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Getting the tone right required great skill and, to her credit, Ms. Murphy has nailed it. She recently described the plot as “a story about how good it is not to be dead yet,” which gives you some idea of where it’s coming from.
Henry Finlay (Ben Mendelsohn) and his musician wife Anna (Essie Davis) have only one child, a 16-year-old daughter named Milla (Eliza Scanlen). When we meet them, they are battling to deal with the fact that Milla has some form of cancer but, so far, treatment seems to be working okay and the girl is attending a local high school. When, on the way to school one day, Milla meets Moses, a rats-tailed, tattooed (he has ‘Le Loup’, French for The Wolf, on his cheek!) drug dealer considerably older than she is and brings him home for dinner, a set of wheels is put in motion that will test the entire family.
The movie version of Babyteeth was written by Australian writer/actor Rita Kalnejais based on her original play, which was first performed at the Belvoir Theatre, Sydney, in 2012. It was there that it was seen by legendary producer Jan Chapman (EP on this film), who spotted its filmic potential immediately and the skill of its author. “Often writers don’t adapt their own screenplays, but I don’t think we [she and producer Alex White] even thought of anyone else doing it,” said Chapman. “Rita had a knack. Her story is about families and the way we navigate the lives we live every day. This film helps you understand how we all behave towards each other.” Kalnejais has done an excellent job of the transition from stage to screen, too, and the film never reveals its theatrical origins to the audience. It’s entirely cinematic, aided by Andrew Commis’ restless camera work and Steve Evans’ sharp editing.
Another standout attribute of Babyteeth is the quality of the performances. Mendelsohn and Davis are exceptional at walking the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Both their characters are struggling to cope with the enormity of what’s happening to their daughter - Dad’s not taking his work as a psychiatrist too seriously and thinks pills are the answer to everything and Mum’s downing Xanax and Zoloft by the handful - and these two veteran actors beautifully convey their characters’ agonising mix of love and confusion. The younger generation, in Wallace and Scanlen, are outstanding, too, and are just as successful as their elders in carrying off the contradictory and varied emotions necessary for their meaty roles. Scanlen is very good at portraying the wild passions of the teenage Milla, who’s five years younger than the actress’ actual age, and Wallace successfully communicates the softer, more vulnerable side of outwardly tough Moses. Small but important supporting roles by Emily Barclay and Eugene Gilfedder are also top-notch.
There are a couple of minor characters who crop up late in the piece with little explanation, which is a shame, because their presence throws you out of the enclosed world that Babyteeth has inhabited up until then but they are not enough to put you off completely. It’s a pity, though. Nonetheless, this is one of the most original Aussie films you are likely to see this year. It’s heartfelt, sensitive ending can’t fail to move you.
Screenwriter: Rita Kalnejais
Principal cast:
Eliza Scanlen
Toby Wallace
Ben Mendelsohn
Essie Davis
Emily Barclay
Eugene Gilfedder
Country: Australia
Classification: M
Runtime: 118 mins.
Australian release date: 23 July 2020.
Babyteeth is the first dramatic feature film from Shannon Murphy, a director who’s been working in TV on high-profile series like Love Child, Offspring and Rake since 2017. She has also directed a couple of eps of the third season of Killing Eve, so it’s interesting that she chose this oddball script for her movie debut. One imagines it would have been easy for her to stay in the warm embrace of television. Babyteeth deals with material that could so easily have gone off the rails, mixing what is, at its heart, a really tragic story about a young girl with cancer and an almost comedic family drama about worried parents trying to stop their daughter’s budding romance with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. Getting the tone right required great skill and, to her credit, Ms. Murphy has nailed it. She recently described the plot as “a story about how good it is not to be dead yet,” which gives you some idea of where it’s coming from.
Henry Finlay (Ben Mendelsohn) and his musician wife Anna (Essie Davis) have only one child, a 16-year-old daughter named Milla (Eliza Scanlen). When we meet them, they are battling to deal with the fact that Milla has some form of cancer but, so far, treatment seems to be working okay and the girl is attending a local high school. When, on the way to school one day, Milla meets Moses, a rats-tailed, tattooed (he has ‘Le Loup’, French for The Wolf, on his cheek!) drug dealer considerably older than she is and brings him home for dinner, a set of wheels is put in motion that will test the entire family.
The movie version of Babyteeth was written by Australian writer/actor Rita Kalnejais based on her original play, which was first performed at the Belvoir Theatre, Sydney, in 2012. It was there that it was seen by legendary producer Jan Chapman (EP on this film), who spotted its filmic potential immediately and the skill of its author. “Often writers don’t adapt their own screenplays, but I don’t think we [she and producer Alex White] even thought of anyone else doing it,” said Chapman. “Rita had a knack. Her story is about families and the way we navigate the lives we live every day. This film helps you understand how we all behave towards each other.” Kalnejais has done an excellent job of the transition from stage to screen, too, and the film never reveals its theatrical origins to the audience. It’s entirely cinematic, aided by Andrew Commis’ restless camera work and Steve Evans’ sharp editing.
Another standout attribute of Babyteeth is the quality of the performances. Mendelsohn and Davis are exceptional at walking the fine line between comedy and tragedy. Both their characters are struggling to cope with the enormity of what’s happening to their daughter - Dad’s not taking his work as a psychiatrist too seriously and thinks pills are the answer to everything and Mum’s downing Xanax and Zoloft by the handful - and these two veteran actors beautifully convey their characters’ agonising mix of love and confusion. The younger generation, in Wallace and Scanlen, are outstanding, too, and are just as successful as their elders in carrying off the contradictory and varied emotions necessary for their meaty roles. Scanlen is very good at portraying the wild passions of the teenage Milla, who’s five years younger than the actress’ actual age, and Wallace successfully communicates the softer, more vulnerable side of outwardly tough Moses. Small but important supporting roles by Emily Barclay and Eugene Gilfedder are also top-notch.
There are a couple of minor characters who crop up late in the piece with little explanation, which is a shame, because their presence throws you out of the enclosed world that Babyteeth has inhabited up until then but they are not enough to put you off completely. It’s a pity, though. Nonetheless, this is one of the most original Aussie films you are likely to see this year. It’s heartfelt, sensitive ending can’t fail to move you.