Film No. 46 (2015) July 1st. 6.45 PM HOYTS Carousel Cannington.
"Your father and I have decided, enough of these meetings, we want our son back". (Ruben's mother being as supportive as she knows how to assist her son through his problems, the meetings are his AA meetings).
Ruben Guthrie
I read Ruben Guthrie, the play, last summer and had it play out
in my head, as if it was staged on an intimate space, with a captivated audience. I imagined it to be a strong example of contemporary theatre in the vein of a David Williamson play at the height of his powers through the 70's and 80's. This film version, while really competently shot, unraveled like many of Williamson's conversions to film did. There just wasn't the same raw power.
Ruben Guthrie (Patrick Brammall) has it all. A dream house, a gorgeous, sensible fiance and a career where he sets the agenda, an award winning agenda. So what can go wrong? His inability to understand that to really enjoy all that he has, alcohol can't dominate his existence. Ruben, it would seem has addictive behaviour issues. While we don't really get time to be convinced of Ruben and Zoya's (Abbey Lee) commitment to one another, Zoya walks out and gives our man 12 months to abstain or lose her.
And so we spend 350 odd days with Ruben as he changes his behaviours while making new friends and disgarding old ones. The process of Ruben "growing a heart" while mixing with more common folk has traction. Jack Thompson and Robin Nevin work well as the supportive/ unsupportive parents. Finally he's forced into an inevitable corner.
In the intimacy of a live theatre space an audience can become enthralled with a larger than life character like Ruben. A cinema audience is looking for more than just the one trick pony Ruben offered so successfully on stage. Given this, the film is tightly adapted for screen, well performed by all and fantastically shot. Cowell is a good writer, perhaps the next Williamson. Brammall is making his mark after achieving great success on the smaller screen. Ruben is worth a look. 7GUMS
in my head, as if it was staged on an intimate space, with a captivated audience. I imagined it to be a strong example of contemporary theatre in the vein of a David Williamson play at the height of his powers through the 70's and 80's. This film version, while really competently shot, unraveled like many of Williamson's conversions to film did. There just wasn't the same raw power.
Ruben Guthrie (Patrick Brammall) has it all. A dream house, a gorgeous, sensible fiance and a career where he sets the agenda, an award winning agenda. So what can go wrong? His inability to understand that to really enjoy all that he has, alcohol can't dominate his existence. Ruben, it would seem has addictive behaviour issues. While we don't really get time to be convinced of Ruben and Zoya's (Abbey Lee) commitment to one another, Zoya walks out and gives our man 12 months to abstain or lose her.
And so we spend 350 odd days with Ruben as he changes his behaviours while making new friends and disgarding old ones. The process of Ruben "growing a heart" while mixing with more common folk has traction. Jack Thompson and Robin Nevin work well as the supportive/ unsupportive parents. Finally he's forced into an inevitable corner.
In the intimacy of a live theatre space an audience can become enthralled with a larger than life character like Ruben. A cinema audience is looking for more than just the one trick pony Ruben offered so successfully on stage. Given this, the film is tightly adapted for screen, well performed by all and fantastically shot. Cowell is a good writer, perhaps the next Williamson. Brammall is making his mark after achieving great success on the smaller screen. Ruben is worth a look. 7GUMS
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