It is the 21st of December here in Australia which also means it is Gravy Day! A day where we celebrate Aussie Singer-Songwriter Paul Kelly’s 1996 ode to the challenges of spending life on the inside of a prison cell at Christmas time and the yearning to once again connect with family and make amends for the past.
Struggling with grief from the passing of his mother, Joe (Daniel Henshall) lets a family altercation get out of control which ultimately leads to him assaulting a police officer and spending time inside. Joe struggles to maintain his anger in the face of prison yard politics, but an encounter with Prison cook Noel (Hugo Weaving) changes his path. On the outside his wife Rita (French actress Agatha Rouselle who also played freaking Titane!) struggles to keep it together, especially with controlling the emotional outbursts of son Angus (Jonah Wren Phillips).
Remember in my review of The Hobbit I spoke about my year 8 teacher who actually sang the songs from the page? Well he also once assigned us an English essay task on Paul Kelly, which was the first real moment that I understood the literary power of songwriting and the recognition that Kelly himself is a masterful poet.
Weaving as Noel, who delivers an informal Men’s Behavioural Program within the prison, is phenomenal and this movie does a lot to highlight the importance of such programs. It is a hard sell to land government funding for programs that support perpetrators, but guidance that helps men to recognise and take responsibility for their own pain and the pain that they cause other is the only way to truly change the horrible family violence that we see in this county and across the world.
I should stress that this movie isn’t a DV narrative but does very much address similar themes in regard to anger and violence control.
Powerful, honest and a refreshing change from the usual Aussie ‘zany’ family Christmas comedies.
It is the 21st of December here in Australia which also means it is Gravy Day! A day where we celebrate Aussie Singer-Songwriter Paul Kelly’s 1996 ode to the challenges of spending life on the inside of a prison cell at Christmas time and the yearning to once again connect with family and make amends for the past.
Struggling with grief from the passing of his mother, Joe (Daniel Henshall) lets a family altercation get out of control which ultimately leads to him assaulting a police officer and spending time inside. Joe struggles to maintain his anger in the face of prison yard politics, but an encounter with Prison cook Noel (Hugo Weaving) changes his path. On the outside his wife Rita (French actress Agatha Rouselle who also played freaking Titane!) struggles to keep it together, especially with controlling the emotional outbursts of son Angus (Jonah Wren Phillips).
Remember in my review of The Hobbit I spoke about my year 8 teacher who actually sang the songs from the page? Well he also once assigned us an English essay task on Paul Kelly, which was the first real moment that I understood the literary power of songwriting and the recognition that Kelly himself is a masterful poet.
Weaving as Noel, who delivers an informal Men’s Behavioural Program within the prison, is phenomenal and this movie does a lot to highlight the importance of such programs. It is a hard sell to land government funding for programs that support perpetrators, but guidance that helps men to recognise and take responsibility for their own pain and the pain that they cause other is the only way to truly change the horrible family violence that we see in this county and across the world.
I should stress that this movie isn’t a DV narrative but does very much address similar themes in regard to anger and violence control.
Powerful, honest and a refreshing change from the usual Aussie ‘zany’ family Christmas comedies.
