This week, I’m away on holiday which means many things, firstly it means a couple of weeks without a “What I Watched This Week” post. Secondly, it means I’ll watch less movies as the social obligations kick in. Thirdly, it means when I do go to the cinema, it likely won’t be alone (A common idea for most people, but for some reason, nobody ever wants to go and watch an Indonesian art house drama). This film’s special guest was my mother.

When you go to the cinema with your parents, and the BBFC black card comes up, the awkward fears come true. In amongst the title card description listing the reasons for age rating is that three letter word which you’ve been dreading. The word that if you know it’s coming up in a film at home, you go to the toilet/make a drink. However, in a cinema you can’t leave and just have to sit there awkwardly. However, that’s all in the first ten minutes. Then for the rest of the 2 hours, you can enjoy the film and just feel relieved you’re watching a movie about a girl with terminal cancer instead.

When Miller is on her way to school, she comes across a man down on his luck called Moses. Despite being a number of years older than her, there is a chemistry there. It turns out that Moses, who has been thrown out by his family is a small time drug dealer. Needless to say, Miller’s parents aren’t happy. They are having their own struggles. Miller’s mother is suffering mental issues, while her psychologist father is alone. At the same time, Miller has also been suffering from cancer. It may seem odd that I use that as a last minute thought, but while it’s a clear plot point which justifies many of Miller’s motivations, it’s also rarely directly discussed. The reason this film feels different and refreshing is that it feels like the story the ill person wants to tell, instead of the healthy person. The moments of love and humanity are still dominant. Sure, there is suffering and hard moments, but that isn’t the whole of Miller’s life.

Everything great about this film comes from the two lead actors. Both Elizabeth Scanlen (Miller) and Toby Wallace (Moses) provide wonderfully fun performances. Each one provides a deep and troubled character, yet a character who wants to improve the other. I enjoyed their scenes the most and when they weren’t on the screen, I was waiting for them to be back.

The film style provides a fresh and interesting perspective. At first, it really came across as messy and chaotic in the editing with seemingly random leaps forward through time. This took a while to get used to, but did match the tone of the story. There were multiple times where Eliza Scanlen’s lead character seemed to glance at the camera. While this may have been accidental, it felt much more like an intimate introduction into her world. The camera shots were smart. At the toughest times, Miller and Moses were both in shots together when the parents were always shot separately, showing their jaded relationship. The use of colour is creative throughout, especially in a party scene midway through. For a debut film, director Shannon Murphy definitely takes some risks with interesting effect. It took a while to get used to, but as the film went on it grew on me.

The soundtrack was also wonderfully understated. A piano and violin duet would ring throughout, with music being a key theme in the film.

The film was by no means perfect. The biggest issue I had was that some of the side stories wrapped up too neatly. There was no real conclusion to any side narratives of the parents and Moses’ problems were rather swept away without repercussions. I’m not sure why. Maybe the director wrote themselves into a corner or ran out of money. The film felt 10 minutes too short, setting up these narratives without proper pay off.

Summary

A charming indie debut, Babyteeth gets a lot right. It’s a slightly quirky off-kilter film which mainly works as a result of its two brilliant leads. It’s got a big heart and really lets you embrace an old story from a fresh perspective. I enjoyed it, and so did mum. [Grade: B-]

Right, straight on to that film…