Hardly a revelation_英文原版
tom long in the book of revelations.
it's easy to see why tom long, an actor known for affable, boyish characters such as seachange's angus kabiri, would be keen to sign up for a dark, erotic thriller such as the book of revelation.
the role of daniel, a principal dancer with a contemporary company, is, for him, refreshingly against type and requires a considerable technical stretch.
such chances come along infrequently in an actor's career - they should be seized with both hands - and all power to long for doing so; it's a brave and provocative choice.
the actor has undergone an extraordinary physical transformation to play daniel, who is kidnapped and sexually abused by a group of women, attaining the muscles and sculptured angles of a dancer's body.
but he still doesn't move like one - and this is obvious in the film's opening dance sequences. nor does he manage to dig deep enough to find the emotional depths required to make this story work.
when daniel is finally released back into the world, he grapples with a molotov cocktail of feelings - shame, anger, humiliation, and a burning desire for vengeance.
long convincingly conveys the blank trauma someone in such a position might experience, but as an audience we need more of an in.
even more problematic is the abduction scene.
director ana kokkinos says she chose to adapt british author rupert thomson's novel for the big screen because she was fascinated by the reversal at the heart of it: "man as victim, women as perpetrators".
society's stereotypical response to daniel's plight is summed up in the film by the two police officers to whom he eventually attempts to tell his story.
"kidnapped and sexually abused by three women, i should be so lucky," they laugh.
given that's what the film is working against, the abduction itself needs to be physically credible.
instead we get a dreamlike flashback in which the hooded women almost float along a dark alley followed by a shot in which daniel dazedly watches as they inject him with some kind of sedative.
kokkinos's last film, head on (another adaptation of a novel), was a visceral, vital, in-your-face exploration of male sexuality.
book of revelation's arms-length artiness is less arresting, although the effect is mitigated by the relaxed physicality of the scenes involving colin friel's detective and greta scacchi's dance doyenne. with these actors we can relax, safe in seasoned hands.
a bold attempt to go where no woman has gone before that ultimately fails to deliver.
the book of revelation (r18+)
* * 1/2
director: ana kokkinos
starring: tom long, anna torv, greta scacchi,
colin friels and deborah mailman
screening: george st, city; academy twin, paddington and norton st, leichhardt; cinema paris, eq; gu macquarie and avalon
it's easy to see why tom long, an actor known for affable, boyish characters such as seachange's angus kabiri, would be keen to sign up for a dark, erotic thriller such as the book of revelation.
the role of daniel, a principal dancer with a contemporary company, is, for him, refreshingly against type and requires a considerable technical stretch.
such chances come along infrequently in an actor's career - they should be seized with both hands - and all power to long for doing so; it's a brave and provocative choice.
the actor has undergone an extraordinary physical transformation to play daniel, who is kidnapped and sexually abused by a group of women, attaining the muscles and sculptured angles of a dancer's body.
but he still doesn't move like one - and this is obvious in the film's opening dance sequences. nor does he manage to dig deep enough to find the emotional depths required to make this story work.
when daniel is finally released back into the world, he grapples with a molotov cocktail of feelings - shame, anger, humiliation, and a burning desire for vengeance.
long convincingly conveys the blank trauma someone in such a position might experience, but as an audience we need more of an in.
even more problematic is the abduction scene.
director ana kokkinos says she chose to adapt british author rupert thomson's novel for the big screen because she was fascinated by the reversal at the heart of it: "man as victim, women as perpetrators".
society's stereotypical response to daniel's plight is summed up in the film by the two police officers to whom he eventually attempts to tell his story.
"kidnapped and sexually abused by three women, i should be so lucky," they laugh.
given that's what the film is working against, the abduction itself needs to be physically credible.
instead we get a dreamlike flashback in which the hooded women almost float along a dark alley followed by a shot in which daniel dazedly watches as they inject him with some kind of sedative.
kokkinos's last film, head on (another adaptation of a novel), was a visceral, vital, in-your-face exploration of male sexuality.
book of revelation's arms-length artiness is less arresting, although the effect is mitigated by the relaxed physicality of the scenes involving colin friel's detective and greta scacchi's dance doyenne. with these actors we can relax, safe in seasoned hands.
a bold attempt to go where no woman has gone before that ultimately fails to deliver.
the book of revelation (r18+)
* * 1/2
director: ana kokkinos
starring: tom long, anna torv, greta scacchi,
colin friels and deborah mailman
screening: george st, city; academy twin, paddington and norton st, leichhardt; cinema paris, eq; gu macquarie and avalon