Charlotte Rampling plays a character in two time periods in an intriguing romantic drama set in a stately home in Australia. She is Elizabeth Hunter, a well-born aristocratic beauty who now suffers from dementia and paralysis of the legs whose stinging demands contrast with her childlike states of confusion. Once proud and haughty, she is looked after by her staff which treats her with love and respect, unlike her children, daughter Princess de Lascabanes (Judy Davis) and Basil (Geoffrey Rush) a renowned stage actor both of whom chose to live as far away from her as possible.
Coming Home
They’ve been called home because their mother is at death’s door. It seems to gall the two of them to have to make a show of being by her side even at such a crucial time, so great is their dislike of her. Elizabeth’s imperious manner never drops and her children are unable to have an honest interaction with her. They choose to live a kind of shadowy world of subterfuge and avoidance driven by fear and perhaps something from the past. They rattle around the massive, over decorated house looking for places to hide, while the staff creates a bustling, cheery world in the lower floors.
The Staff
The cook, who escaped Nazi clutches in Poland as a child, entertains Elizabeth with cabaret performances in her room, dressed in Elizabeth’s glorious wardrobe and jewels. A younger nurse changes her soiled diapers and lifts everyone’s spirits with her optimism and caring nature. Another nurse prays over Elizabeth at every chance. All love her.
Jealousy
The Hunter children are alarmed by the way the staff runs the household, misreading Elizabeth’s relationship with them and their intentions. They decide to fire the lot and move their mother to a nursing home. When the nurses catch wind of their cruel plot, their carefree, pleasant life with Elizabeth seems doomed. Elizabeth is clearly deteriorating as she tries to sort out her will and manage her anxiety about being put in a home, but she refuses to leave.
Rampling
Rampling is simply sensational in the part of Elizabeth the elder and younger. Several years earlier, Elizabeth developed a romantic attachment to one of her daughter’s boyfriends, which caused a rift and breach of trust. Rampling is just as convincing as a beautiful, graceful middle aged woman who may perhaps lack judgement. Once she’s on the screen, it’s hard to look anywhere else, that’s the power of Rampling.
Davis
Judy Davis’ small minded and perpetually anxious daughter is a brilliant creation. She accepts the kinds of false favours a celebrity receives in her hometown because she was once a French princess. She accepts lodging, and other services because she’s dead broke. The truth is, she and her brother are both broke. They’ve come to see their mother off to the next world and take possession of her estate. They can barely stand the sight of each other too.
Rush
Rush plays her son, a vapid, egomaniac and local theatre star whose attentions to his mother are bathed in agenda. It's a fearless performance, the kind at which Rush excels.
Vultures Gather
It’s an endlessly fascinating story that is ugly at times and cold and harsh others. There are rare rays of light in this sunlit Australian world, to lighten the desperation of the players. As a storm approaches, the vultures are gathering. It’s high drama and a brilliant film, which is a tiny bit too long, but otherwise, riveting.
Anne Brodie - I review films each week on Corus and Rogers TV and for Metro News Canada, AskMen.com and Monsters and Critics. I profile celebrities for ...
