The Illustrated Family Doctor
Director: Kriv Stenders
Stars: Samuel Johnson, Colin Friels, Sacha Horler, Kestie Morassi, Jessica Napier, Sarah Pierse, Jason Gann, Paul Sonnkila
Running time: 100 minutes.
Reviewed by GREG KING
Much has been written recently about the state of the local film industry, speculating about the reasons why audiences stay away in droves from our quirky, unfunny comedies and bleak, downbeat dramas. While the producers of this original but off beat low budget drama hold out high hopes for it, The Illustrated Family Doctor is unlikely to change audiences' perceptions about local productions and their lack of commercial appeal. Written and directed by first timer Kriv Stenders (a veteran of stylish commercials), this is a relentlessly grim and depressing black comedy about the absurdities of modern life. Indeed, not everyone will be attuned to its mordant streak of viciously black humour, and this is unlikely to hold broad appeal.
Gary Kelp (Samuel Johnson, in a role far removed from his lovable larrikin image) is a sub-editor for a company that produces condensed versions of popular books for the mass market. At the moment he is working on condensing a graphic medical reference, a task for which he noticeably lacks enthusiasm. Then his father suddenly dies, and Gary learns that his organs were harvested for donation.
Gary's life then begins to fall apart as he begins to suffer from all sorts of strange debilitating illnesses, until he is diagnosed with kidney failure. Some of his illnesses may even be psychosomatic. His work suffers, and even his personal life becomes increasingly messy and dangerous. And then there is the malevolent presence of the Chopper Read like gangster Snapper Thompson (Paul Sonkkila), who is working with the company on a series of "true crime" books. It is only the friendship and sage advice of senior editor Ray (Colin Friels) that helps Gary sort out his life and ultimately get back on track.
The film finds the perfect ending, but then undoes it all with a meaningless coda. Again, the basic problem seems to be with an underdeveloped script that appears to have been rushed into production. The film was shot in just five weeks. The script fails to bring much warmth or life to the characters, many of whom are underdeveloped. Nonetheless, production values are quite good. The grey cinematography, moody lighting, functional costumes and sterile sets add to the overall atmosphere.
Johnson delivers a brave and emotionally raw performance in an unappealing role. His solid presence is the only major positive of an otherwise bleak and unattractive film that suggests that 2005 is going to be another year when the creative and politically motivated decisions of our film funding bodies will be put under the microscope.
*1/2
reviewed by PETER KRAUSZ
Nihilistic misanthropy is an uncommon theme in the history of the cinema, and tends to polarize audiences. Recent Australian films that have adopted this approach include A Wreck, A Tangle (dir: Scott Patterson), a story about a couple that falls under the spell of another destructive couple, and A Cold Summer (dir: Paul Middleditch) a sombre piece about two mutually destructive people who find some sort of romantic accord.
The Illustrated Family Doctor adopts a similar tone to these films, although the black comedy is accentuated, to the point where the film plumbs some fairly dark recesses of its characters. Samuel Johnson plays an editor for a literary company that specializes in condensing known texts and re-packaging popular topics and ideas. His brief is to edit a graphic medical text, the eponymous title, while trying to cope with his father's death and his own depressive views of his marriage, his mother's fate, his work and the general direction of his life. Nihilism has never been more carefully structured as in this film, with a brittle script (based on his novel) by David Snell and the director, Kriv Stenders.
Where this film falls off the rails, despite the intriguing premise, is that after ten minutes, you've got it. The production design, a key player in the film (with no external shots until the end) is both pervasive and repetitive. The characters, including Samuel's, do not develop much at all, and that includes Colin Friel's hard-bitten editor/writer and Sacha Horler's pragmatic sister to Samuel. Paul Sonkkila registers as a work colleague, and Jessica Napier and Kestie Morassi do their best in underwritten and largely thankless roles. The subtext of the film seems quite apparent; Australian middle-class life makes you ill. However it takes the film 106 minutes to reach a conclusion that was apparent before the first reel change.
My fervent hope is that the FFC funds film scripts that provide clear character and plot development, that reflect the real Australian experience, and that offer the audience something that provides true exploration and discussion afterwards. We could make a film like Sideways in Australia that provides an audience with some resonance; or explore why Lantana was such a successful film, because even though it did touch on some of the themes of this film, it provided much better insights and depth into character development in middle class Australia. Unfortunately, Illustrated Family Doctor is a brave attempt that misses the blackly comic mark and instead dips into the usual underdeveloped script trough that has befallen a number of Australian films of late.
Score: 4/10