Some background ... In Australia, Adelaide has a bad reputation for serial killers, notably the 'Family Murders', in which teenage boys were raped, tortured and murdered. Only one person was charged, although it is believed that more people were involved. Then there were the "Bodies in the Barrels' murders which were horrific crimes perpetrated by people in this city's underclass.
The film is not a neat, linear progression, but rather a series of vignettes depicting a teenage boy, now dead, reflecting on his death, how he ended up "just sort of falling into it". Then there is his mother, who is shown exploring his room; her surreal dreams (as a stand up comic asking a small audience "Have you heard about the boy who lost his head"; crawling through the house where he was murdered; and then going to the place where he was found.
It is a raw and nonlinear exploration of the grief that tears at a mother. It's not neat or simple, but how can her reaction be tidy? The reactions, even the characters themselves, at the stand-up comedy in her dreams are puzzling and leave me wondering about them. The inclusion of a drag queen in the small audience may be an allusion to how the "Family's" victims were lured.
It's intriguing. It's not enjoyable - how can this topic be enjoyable - but it makes an impression.
I wonder what these new film makers might produce next.
The film is not a neat, linear progression, but rather a series of vignettes depicting a teenage boy, now dead, reflecting on his death, how he ended up "just sort of falling into it". Then there is his mother, who is shown exploring his room; her surreal dreams (as a stand up comic asking a small audience "Have you heard about the boy who lost his head"; crawling through the house where he was murdered; and then going to the place where he was found.
It is a raw and nonlinear exploration of the grief that tears at a mother. It's not neat or simple, but how can her reaction be tidy? The reactions, even the characters themselves, at the stand-up comedy in her dreams are puzzling and leave me wondering about them. The inclusion of a drag queen in the small audience may be an allusion to how the "Family's" victims were lured.
It's intriguing. It's not enjoyable - how can this topic be enjoyable - but it makes an impression.
I wonder what these new film makers might produce next.
