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All the Juice from Crushed
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Georgina Capper and Ian Dixon |
The screening of Ian Dixon's first feature film CRUSHED at Cinema Nova in 2008 was a great success, attended by cast and crew, Open Channel members and industry guests. Many thanks to sponsor Cinema Nova for making this screening possible and to Crumpler for the great show bags! The film also boasts a superb soundtrack with an eclectic mix of original contemporary songs and new recordings of classical pieces. Below are some comments and reviews of the film:
'I'll continue to think and talk about this film...it has left its mark...Thanks for making that film Ian' - Sonya Everard, filmmaker
'I thought [CRUSHED] reeked of Fassbinder particularly the claustrophobic feeling, people locked into a situation they can't control, the histrionic crying scene and the use of melodramatic music. (I think Fassbinder walks on water by the way so this is all good)' - Kim McCarthy, film student
'Thought the movie was excellent...what an achievement...thoroughly inspired me' - Oscar Argueso, C31
'Film looked beautiful...Great music. Superb editing...' - Ryan Howard, filmmaker
'It was most refreshing to see an artist's particularity of vision at play - rather than just one more film appearing out of the same ho-hum zeitgeist. There were flaws...but despite them, there was a luminously, clearly, deep, active intelligence at work.' - Katerina Kokkinos-Kennedy, artist/ writer
'A powerful debut by Australia's new Paul Cox. The movie is an accomplished character driven drama that engages the viewer for every second of viewing' - David Blake, editor, Bioshares
'I really enjoyed your film a lot....congratulations...you have achieved so much' - Dr. Lisa Dethridge, author of WRITING YOUR SCREENPLAY
...and this review from Janet Watson Kruse, Actor, Singer, Creative Entrepreneur:
"... Are all men bastards? Ian Dixon's profoundly character-driven masterpiece never gives an easy answer to this question, but instead takes us on an intimate journey into female friendship.
The detail of the work blew me away. The camera caught the actors tenderly in very intimate close-ups, often moving in an almost musical way with the conversation. It is obviously a film made with love.
The performances are so detailed and subtle, I found myself watching really hard so I wouldn't miss a moment. It is so unusual to see this level of detail in a screen performance - clearly the result of a lengthy and fruitful rehearsal process. Georgina Capper blew me away with her sensitive, vulnerable performance as the central character, and Penelope Bartlau (whom I hardly recognised because she was so great as a ballsy blonde dame) was her perfect foil. Neither character was perfect, but are they completely mistaken about the man they both have fallen for? Is he a smooth, charming bastard or a genuine bloke who just doesn't quite 'get it'? I was kept guessing to the end.
All credit to Damian Walshe-Howling for an understated performance in a role where he was not the protagonist. A satisfying role reversal to the gender dynamic of much film and literature. Miranda Nation's adolescent schoolgirl is played with icy intensity. Her character traces the ambiguous moral ground occupied by this film: She's no saint, but are her actions evil, or those of a seriously wronged young woman?
The script was extraordinarily detailed and natural. Lots of satisfying emotional and symbolic layers, none of which were pushed too hard. The resolution was not obvious but entirely satisfying. The conversations felt so real. I want to see it again."
©
Ian Dixon, April 2009.
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