Babyteeth (2020)

Review

118min

Genre:        Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director:      Shannon Murphy

Cast:          Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Ben Mendelsohn…and more

Writers:      Rita Kalnejais

-Synopsis-

The quiet but complex lives of a suburban Australian couple are thrown into turmoil when their cancer-stricken teenage daughter develops a relationship with a local petty criminal and addict, as cracks in the marriage surface when she begins to subvert their traditional values and fast-track her adolescence—and the unsettling fourth wheel bores his way into the family to change their lives forever.

Ever since the “Ozploitation” and Australian New Wave explosion of the 70s and 80s, Aussie film has continued to evolve and leave its mark on western cinema, delivering pictures of every genre and description while securing an impressive overrepresentation of talent in Hollywood both in front of and behind the camera—not to mention making its mark on the global indie cinema scene, while unearthing female directorial talent the likes of Jennifer Kent, Cate Shortland and Gillian Armstrong. Now UK audiences finally get to see director Shannon Murphy team up with screenwriter Rita Kalnejais to take up the reins and deliver a frank and poignant suburban Aussie coming-of-age family drama and young forbidden love story. And the chance to see what Greta Gerwig might have spotted (along with ‘Sharp Objects’) when casting her version of ‘Little Women’.

Eliza Scanlen stars as suburban Sydney teen ‘Milla’, a shy and anxious model student and high school violinist with a life-changing illness, whose days of young teenage naivete become numbered when she meets ‘Moses’ (Toby Wallace), a 23-year-old petty drug-dealer and addict with his own issues. Yet her newfound zest for life and strive to womanhood becomes something of a nightmare for her worrying psychiatrist father ‘Henry’ (Ben Mendelsohn) and musician mother ‘Anna’ (Essie Davis) when Moses further inserts himself into their lives. Putting further strain on their marriage and state of mind as they resort to some questionable parenting to make count the precious days they have left with their daughter.

When it comes to cinematic inspiration for a film about dealing with life defining illness, there’s no shortage of Hollywood tearjerkers from which Murphy can draw, and you can certainly sense the influence of films like ‘Terms of Endearment’ and ‘The Fault in our Stars’. But being a distinctly Australian indie affair, ‘Babyteeth’ thankfully has a distinct lack of saccharine sentimentality yet no shortage of poignancy and a hint of gritty teen angst reminiscent of 2003’s ‘Thirteen’ or Andrea Arnold’s ‘Fish Tank’. Plus enough humour to remind you of films like ’50/50′ and ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’, and an abundance of frank Aussie charm which makes us feel like we’re a fly on the wall of a real home.

Shannon Murphy also infuses the film with a blend of contemporary and retro style, as her cinematographer Andrew Commis (The Daughter) combines a warm and hazy modern colour palette with a traditional 1.66 : 1 European theatrical aspect ratio to give ‘Babyteeth’ a more personal and intimate look. Meanwhile the film’s composer and music supervisor Amanda Brown has the tricky task of blending her own compositions with an eclectic soundtrack of both classic and contemporary folk, pop, soul and experimental music—all of which serves to not only establish atmosphere but also bring out the violin-led musicality which is key to the film’s narrative.

But as much as ‘Babyteeth’ looks and sounds the part, its triumph lies in the way it makes you feel, with Murphy skilfully weaving together an intimate contemporary family drama and an accelerated coming-of-age story with an unavoidable destiny, all sprinkled with doses of addiction, abandonment, depression and loss. Yet the result although at times heart-breaking and poignant is also warm, spirit-lifting and frank to a fault, while occasionally awkward and often dryly funny. And much like its main protagonist, the film has a certain energy, attitude and joie de vivre which ultimately overpowers the condition which threatens to define her and those around her—and it’s all held together thanks to the performances of the central quartet.

It’s reasonable to assume that TV series ‘Sharp Objects’ was where Greta Gerwig first saw in Eliza Scanlen what she needed for the ‘Beth March’ part in last year’s ‘Little Women’—another terminally ill teenager role—but ‘Babyteeth’ further underlines the abilities and promise of this emerging young Aussie for us all, delivering a subtly heart-wrenching yet soul-warming transformation of a child into accelerated young womanhood, and doing so with restrained angst and inner turmoil but without unnecessary melodramatics. Luckily for her she can rely on the talents of her co-star Toby Wallace as Moses who proves her screen partner, foil, and the catalyst for change, bringing to life the personification of every parents’ nightmare but never descending into cliché or predictability, and ultimately delivering a character that’s more empathetic than he should be thanks to the humanity and vulnerability of the actor’s performance, and the palpable romantic chemistry between the two young stars.

The film’s central foursome is completed by two accomplished veterans of Australian and indeed global cinema, playing parents who are arguably the emotional backbone of ‘Babyteeth’, with Ben Mendelsohn proving refreshingly fatherly in a relatively rare straight role for him as the level-headed psychiatrist dad. Meanwhile the always admirable and dependable Essie Davis is perhaps the heart of the of the piece as the worrying but loving, long-suffering medicated musical mother, both of whom form a remarkably understanding marital unit with its own unresolved emotional issues, which ventures into irresponsible parenting for the sake of their daughter and the time she has left on this earth.

And even through though the spectre of Milla’s terminal disease looms throughout the film, Shannon Murphy never dwells on it for too long, never specifying her condition or really depicting any treatment, instead using it as a backdrop to the character’s persona, and as a huge emotional anchor for her suffering parents.

One surprising and potentially troubling thing about the film is that in her determination to cultivate an intoxicating and frank story of young love (with Romeo and Juliet undertones), Shannon Murphy isn’t afraid to push buttons by depicting a relationship which is somehow pure while walking the line of being felonious, and ultimately stepping over it. Ensuring that along with delighting audiences, tugging at their heartstrings, and toying with their emotions, ‘Babyteeth’ might well force uncomfortable inner dialogue debates . . . which were it not for the extreme and dire circumstances would be rather one-sided.

The Bottom Line…

Shannon Murphy’s feature debut is a stylish, frank and well-judged little contemporary Aussie family drama and coming-of-age tale on a clock, finely balancing the poignancy and pain of its two gifted screen veterans with the zest and energy of its breakout young stars to capture audience hearts, but also test its tolerance with equal parts despair, joy, charm and heartache.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Thirteen (2003)

A 13-year-old American girl’s close relationship with her mother is put to the test when her adolescence is fast-tracked, after a new friendship with a troubled fellow high-schooler introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and crime.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter and Nikki Reed among others.

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