Birdeater. MA15+. 115 minutes. Four stars.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A young man invites his fiancee to his bucks weekend in the bush with the boys. What could possibly go wrong?
This sounds like it could be the setup for a comedy or a horror movie. And the cryptic title seems to point more at the latter. But although Birdeater is often dark and disturbing, it's not a horror movie in any traditional sense.
Don't come expecting blood and guts. Co-writers and directors Jack Clarke and Jim Weir are interested in psychological effects, examining the ways in which people manipulate and hurt themselves and each other. And they succeed in producing an intense, provocative experience.
In one of the early scenes, a poster for Wake in Fright is out of focus but identifiable in the background.That classic 1971 Australian film dealt with a teacher out of his depth in a toxic country town. The most direct reference here comes in a scene where the boys are driving a truck wildly in the bush, with the trees and scrub seen eerily illuminated by the headlights through the windscreen.
But this isn't the story of a fish out of water; in Birdeater, the problems are caused by the people themselves and what they bring with them.
Louie (Mackenzie Fearnley, who interestingly seems to look quite different depending on the angle and lighting) and his fiancee Irene (Shabana Azeez) seem to be a happy couple - although he's a bit of a workaholic, they spend time together, go swimming, plan their wedding. But it's not long before we get more than a slight inkling that there might be more going on than meets the eye.
For some reason he invites her to come to his bucks weekend, adding Grace (Clementine Anderson) who is the fiancee of his friend Charlie Jack Bannister). Grace and Charlie are Christians and self-proclaimed virgins, but they seem happy enough to come along for the shenanigans (him more than her). Also in the party are Dylan (Ben Hunter), the wild kind of friend who always pushes things too far, the quieter Murph (Alfie Gladhill) and, for some reason, Irene's friend - and possibly ex-lover - Sam (Harley Wilson).
There's the expected drinking and larrikinism - chicken-legged swimmer Louie is made to wear a wetsuit for most of the weekend - but the more time we spend with these people the more we discover about them, and it ain't pretty.
Just to focus on the ostensibly happy couple: it seems possible Louie and Irene are in a relationship where each is exploiting the other. They were together, broke up and reunited, but the scars from their past might be worse than the prominent one on the side of Louie's head. And things really don't seem healthy, especially in the way he treats her.
Oddly, nobody in the group has a mobile phone even though the film is set in the present - there's a reference to the Bechdale test and all too timely (or timeless) ideas as toxic masculinity and gaslighting are brought to the fore. Playing a game of Paranoia is not recommended in such an environment (or, probably, ever).
There's some muffled dialogue, a bit too much opacity about some of the story and characters, and a few overly fancy directorial flourishes (like seeing a pill fall into from a toilet looking up from under the water). But the acting and score and atmosphere are excellent. It's a notable and thought-provoking achievement.