The Eye of the Storm

Editorial

You have absolutely no reason to persist with avoiding Australian films, because this commanding and stirring cracker of family dysfunction provides so much of what cinephiles seek.

The first feature Fred Schepisi has made in his homeland since 1988's Evil Angels; a deliberately provocative work which brought the eclectic director much scorn and celebration - The Eye Of The Storm hardly puts a foot wrong in any of its dazzling departments.

On paper, providing the stage for veteran siren Charlotte Rampling to go head-to-head with Australian acting royalty Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis is nothing short of guaranteed gold.

Alchemy does happen when Schepisi smartly positions this powerhouse trio within fractured, bitter relationships, drawn from the hefty source novel by Nobel Prize-winner Patrick White.

Around these versatile performers who channel the pained yet brazenly funny undertow of the barbed proceedings, Schepisi confidently matches period details, lavishly lived-in locations and a willingness not to frame or edit like an anemic period piece.

Instead, and in spite of Rampling spending most of her screen time in sickened decline, the slyly prowling camerawork and unusual angles give Schepisi's an unpredictable energy which marries with what's happening in the foreground.

Ulterior motives rule the roost as estranged children Dorothy (Davis) and Basil (Rush) return to fawn, fake and fight with their mother Elizabeth (Rampling). The decaying grandeur cocooning Elizabeth carries separate omens for all concerned, and the loaded wordplay and deftly revealed trauma of this splintered societal dynasty rarely drops below engrossing.

Having not nearly been in enough films for some time, Davis effortlessly inhabits the wounded frame of fragile ice princess Dorothy.

Where Rush's flamboyant yet cowardly Basil calls for embellishment, and Rampling's unrepentant vixen allows her seasoned fire to leap or smoulder, Davis must frostily skate in between.

With award nominations bound for this exceptional trio, kudos to Schepisi's daughter Alexandra, who makes a perky, mature impact as house-help Flora. Her peripheral potency neatly represents how her father's high-quality production refuses to rely upon its leading lights.

A darkly funny, soul-achingly sad portrait of family fracas which you really must put on your must-see list.

Jude Allder