Somersault

Basically there are two fundamental types of coming of age stories. There are those with boys as the protagonists and others with girls. The main difference is usually in the presentation. The male stories are raunchy, typically crude while the female counter parts are stories of emotional growth. The difference is highlighted with the prototypical film for each gender, boys will gravitate towards movies like ‘Porkys’ while the more refined sex will sit and watch ‘Mystic Pizza’, in other words, sex versus emotion. In 2004 a film literally swept the Australian Film Institute awards, ‘Somersault’. This film blended the line between a male and female coming of age flick like few before it. Unlike many of the female oriented stories of this ilk the protagonist here, a young girl, is not looking for emotional connection, she wants to explore her sexuality.

Heidi (Abbie Cornish) is a typically teenage girl living in Canberra, Australia with her mother, Nicole (Olivia Pigeot) and mom’s live in boyfriend Adam (Damian De Montemas). While in a particularly flirtatious mood Heidi makes an advance towards Adam and he is more than willing to give it a try. This doesn’t sit well with mom and soon Heidi finds herself leaving home. She winds up in the ski resort town of Lake Jindabyne. Heidi encounters a man there who is willing to give her a coat and a promise of a job but the next morning he seems to not even remember her. Since he is involved with another woman he doesn’t want a little fling to mess things up at home. When Heidi tries to hook up with the equipment manager she is rebuffed but does begin a friendship with his daughter Bianca (Hollie Andrew). Heidi gets a room with in a little motel operated by Irene (Lynette Curran), who loves her son to the point of smothering him. Heidi finds work at a local service station and begins to work her way through the local male population. She finds herself drawn to the son of a local cattle rancher, Joe (Sam Worthington). The two finds themselves friends with a lot of benefits. Joe is in a bad place emotionally. His closest friends are overly judgmental of every aspect of his life, he is dependent on alcohol and confused as to his own sexuality is demonstrated when he kisses his gay friend Richard (Erik Thomson). Joe becomes emotionally dependent on Heidi and flies into a fit when he catches her in bed with another man. The story is almost simplistic but it does delve into some deep territory.

As a father of a daughter I have to admit this film was frightening on one level. To think of a girl barely in her teens as so sexually active is not something that most parents want to admit exists. This is, of course, just another manifestation of the perennial double standards. Boys like this are studs but a girl is branded a slut and a tramp for doing the same thing. Heidi defines herself with her body and her ability to turn just about any man on. She is confused, unable to differentiate between love and sex she copes with relationships the only way she can, by bedding any man who promises to help her. She is forced out of her home prematurely, without the necessary emotional mechanisms in place to cope with the world as an adult. Heidi is still very much a little girl. She finds wonderment in the most mundane objects such as looking at the world through discarded, colored ski goggles. She also shows this more innocent side in scenes like where she finds a bit of joy just touching a glittered unicorn in her old diary. It’s not like her mother was overly nurturing, and her choice of boyfriends’ leaves a lot to be desired. After all Adam has a pedophile tendency. Heidi seems to think that she can find ‘Mister Right’ by going through enough ‘Mister Right Nows’. She doesn’t even appear to enjoy sex; it is a means to an end and little more. There is no where for Heidi to turn to see an example of a normal family. Irene is overprotective, the complete opposite of Heidi’s mother. Joe is the typical rich kid, privileged but not really close to his family. She needs intimacy but can only find the friction of meaningless sex. Heidi is a confused young woman who is on the road to self destruction.

The film it self is incredibly well made. The cinematography is nothing short of spectacular. The snowy town is beautiful but somehow bleak, a perfect metaphor for the emotional isolation of Heidi which hides beneath her pretty exterior. The emotional impact of the film is reinforced by the use of various color filters of blues and reds. This gives a somewhat surrealistic feel to the piece and helps to make if visually stunning. There is an almost gentle pacing to this movie. There are no real emotional highs or lows; just a story that drifts from one encounter to the next, just like Heidi. Typical of a lot of Australian art films the approach to dialogue is on the minimalist side. Much of the story is shown not told. As so often happens in life we never get to find out about some of the peripheral characters. For example, there is no resolution offered for the plight of Irene’s son.

The success of this film rests on the slender shoulders of Abbie Cornish. While she has been in the news a bit for her alleged involvement in the breakup of a long standing, high profile Hollywood marriage. There is little doubt that some will get this movie just for that reason but they will be missing the point, this is a strong performance by a star on the horizon. Cornish plays a girl some eight years her junior but manages to do so with believability. Her portrayal of Heidi is organic. It grows in a natural fashion that is able to pull the audience in. Her character is not really one the audience would normally have sympathy for but the acting talent of Cornish has the ability to hold on to the viewers. Sam Worthington gives us a complex view of Joe. He presents a young man who is confused by life and tries to fond solace with alcohol and sex. Instead of playing Joe as the typical movie rich kid he gives a more realistic presentation.

Magnolia Pictures has been giving the DVD buying public little gems like this for awhile now. Even though they do not produce films that are known by the mainstream moving going public they always give something worth watching. For those out there that enjoys a good little film but don’t have a local art house this is a much appreciated means of enjoying quality films. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is marvelous. While the color palette is often pushed for effect the overall balance is great. The Dolby 5.1 audio is excellent although what dialogue there is in the film is often muted. There are some interesting extras provided with this DVD release. ‘Inside the Snowdome: Making Somersault’ is a pretty run of the mill making of featurette but does shed some light on the production. There are several deleted scenes that include an audio commentary by director Cate Shortland. She goes into the rational behind dropping the scenes from the final cut. There is also an interview with the director of photography, Robert Humphreys, who provides some background on the location shooting. This is a film that exceeds expectations and is well worth your time.

Posted 12/26/06