Film No. 63 (2016) October 16th. 4.00 PM LUNA Leederville.
"Anyone can have bad luck when they're looking for love" (the prophetic words of Joe (Jerome Meyer) during a conversation early in his relationship with girlfriend Anu (Maggie Naouri).
Helen Garner is surely an Australian national treasure. Her contribution to the nation's conscience using gentle fluid tones is extraordinary. Joe Cinque's Consolation is precisely that, a manuscript which hopefully pricks at the consciousness of a nation. It paints the picture of a nice guy having his life extinguished by someone he loves who's placed a spell on him, a spell he was unable to control. Enter Soliris Dounoukos, a film director, who cared enough to make a cinematic interpretation of Garner's words.
The film is clunky but important. Dounoukos is a first time film maker so Consolation is conservative in approach. He does not delve into the court case, flicking backwards and forwards from evidence to flashbacks, instead his focus is on Anu Singh (Maggie Naouri) and her erratic, and yet charismatic behaviour leading up to Joe's (Jerome Meyer) death. He also highlights, more frighteningly, the dereliction of responsibility shown by those who knew what was going on, yet did nothing.
Joe Cinque's Consolation is no Hitchcock Mystery but it has elements of his genius. The issue is, this is a true life crime committed in the most conservative of environments, Australia's capital Canberra. All of the players are still alive, except Joe, so many of the scenes are close to the truth. The dinner party enactments are directed as described by some of those who where present. It is difficult to conceive that these intelligent people allowed Singh to do as she did.
The real consolation for Joe lands in the hands of his parents. These beautiful people (played exquisitely by Gia Carides and Tony Nikolakopoulos and seen only briefly) have been left heart-broken. Their lives were damaged because their son cared too much for his own good. Every performance is riveting. More importantly the film leaves another tribute, as only the arts can do, to the life of Joe Cinque. As a film purist you'll be disappointed, as a human being you'll be spellbound, angry, reflective and finally respectful. 9GUMS.
The film is clunky but important. Dounoukos is a first time film maker so Consolation is conservative in approach. He does not delve into the court case, flicking backwards and forwards from evidence to flashbacks, instead his focus is on Anu Singh (Maggie Naouri) and her erratic, and yet charismatic behaviour leading up to Joe's (Jerome Meyer) death. He also highlights, more frighteningly, the dereliction of responsibility shown by those who knew what was going on, yet did nothing.
Joe Cinque's Consolation is no Hitchcock Mystery but it has elements of his genius. The issue is, this is a true life crime committed in the most conservative of environments, Australia's capital Canberra. All of the players are still alive, except Joe, so many of the scenes are close to the truth. The dinner party enactments are directed as described by some of those who where present. It is difficult to conceive that these intelligent people allowed Singh to do as she did.
The real consolation for Joe lands in the hands of his parents. These beautiful people (played exquisitely by Gia Carides and Tony Nikolakopoulos and seen only briefly) have been left heart-broken. Their lives were damaged because their son cared too much for his own good. Every performance is riveting. More importantly the film leaves another tribute, as only the arts can do, to the life of Joe Cinque. As a film purist you'll be disappointed, as a human being you'll be spellbound, angry, reflective and finally respectful. 9GUMS.
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