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Written by Mandroid3000
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IN MY FATHER'S DEN
***1/2 out of *****
Genres
Drama
2004
Directed by
Brad McGann
Writing credits
Maurice Gee (novel)
Brad McGann (screenplay)
Cast
Emily Barclay .... Celia Steimer
Matthew MacFadyen .... Paul Prior
Miranda Otto .... Penny
Colin Moy .... Andrew
Jimmy Keen .... Jonathon
Toby Alexander .... Paul as a teenager
Nicholas Hayward .... Andrew as a teenager
Liam Herbert .... Andrew as a child
Vanessa Riddell .... Iris
Asher Emanuel .... Paul as a child
Matthew Chamberlain .... Jeff
I’ll admit I didn’t want to see this movie. Almost nothing could entice me to the cinema less than a dark drama set in small-town New Zealand. Sure it had some good reviews, but they’re all from New Zealand publications and I don’t care for them. But, a friend wanted to see it so I went.
I was pleasantly (and a tad grudgingly) surprised. The film follows Paul Prior on his return from England for his father’s funeral. We find out that he didn’t leave under the best circumstances, and there’s a lingering tension with his brother. Paul plans to leave as soon as possible, but finds himself drawn back into the town.
Paul meets a local teenage girl, Ceila (who he sees a lot of himself in) and an old girlfriend. It’s through these relationships that Paul starts to let down the defences he erected when he returned. As they come down new details come to light. It’s best not to reveal too much of the plot. I haven’t read the book, but the script seems to reveal the right amount of information at the right time.
You don’t have to be from New Zealand to relate to the film. It touches on feeling of betrayal and alienation, and being an outsider. It’s about the small-town web people can be trapped in. It’s dark, but this isn’t a New Zealand film that’s dark to give it a veneer of artistry. And it’s well-directed. The tone could have easily veered into melodrama, McGann keeps it realistic.
The only time I thought it wavered was at the end, which dragged. There were a few too many scenes explaining how every character related to every other character and these needed to be either trimmed or compacted down. I would have been satisfied not knowing every detail.
I’m not going to say it’s a masterpiece. It’s a good drama (and not just good for a NZ film). I thought it captured the adolescent experience in NZ well (while Mandroid3000 was insanely popular as a teen, I did occasionally feel I was misunderstood (it turned out I was mumbling)). Only the draggy ending and the presence of a lone actor from Shortland Street (whose name I proudly don’t know and am not going to find out) detracted.
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