Art Smitten: Reviews - 2017

Christian, Silvi, Hamish and Smithers discuss sexism in Christmas movies and review More Pudding Anyone?, the new Christmas comedy playing at 8.30pm at The Butterfly Club (5 Carson Pl, off Little Collins St) until Sunday December 17.

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Andrew reviews the new Charles Dickens biopic starring  Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce and Miriam Margoyles

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Christian and Amorette chat to one of the members of the French band Juniore, coming to Australia in January to perform in next year’s So Frenchy So Chic festival.

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Andrew reviews the 2017 Archibald Prize exhibition, showing at the Geelong Gallery until Sunday December 10.

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On September 17th, 2017, Harry Dean Stanton passed away at the age of 91 years old. He lived the life of an actor, but known more specifically as a character actor. Character actors are known as people who play bizarre, memorable characters in films, who usually appear as a side role. It’s no surprise then that Stanton was a favourite in David Lynch’s films, appearing countless times throughout his long line of surreal creations. Stanton has had few lead acting roles, including that of Repo Man, Paris, Texas and, as one of this final films, Lucky.

Lucky is directed by John Carroll Lynch, who, similarly to Stanton, is widely known for his supporting roles in films as an actor, including Zodiac, The Founder, and American Horror Story. This is his first time stepping into the role as a director, and it goes without saying that he’s a natural at it, in his own way. Stanton is joined in the cast by Ron Livingston, famous for Office Space, and David Lynch, the man himself. As a side note, I find it interesting that three films debuted this year; Logan, Logan Lucky, and Lucky, as well as Logan Sparks co-writing Lucky itself. So, try not to get too confused.

Before I get into what Lucky truly means, let’s look at what Lucky is on the outside. Lucky is a 88 minute drama following the day to day life of Lucky, a 90 year old Atheist who is still kicking, even though he smokes a pack a day. Lucky’s dialogue is very conversational, but existential in nature, discussing the meaning of life, friendship and tortoises. Each actor displays a fantastic performance, and really sell it as real as they can. The visuals are simple, and sometimes surreal, edging into the area that David Lynch favours so well. The score however is something that hits home for me. Simple harmonica tunes with a western spin to it send my back to when I listened to Van Morrison and Bob Dylan with my father on his old cassettes. This kind of music is that of remembrance, old classics, and age. However, Lucky has a lot more to say internally.

Lucky, in itself, is a homage to Harry Dean Stanton's life, whether is meant too or not. Each character is interesting, memorable, and a little kooky, queuing off Stanton's long career of creating characters with this sole nature. Alongside this, the character of Lucky feels like it would be Stanton in real life, if not a exaggerated version of him. Even some lines which Lucky has can be traced to Stanton's own comments in interviews. “I'm 87 years old...I only eat so I can smoke and stay alive.. The only fear I have is how long consciousness is gonna hang on after my body goes.” Two years after he said this, Lucky was filmed, and the simple image that Stanton created here is almost splitting to that of what you see in Lucky.

However, Lucky isn’t just about Stanton. More importantly, it’s about death, and acceptance of such. Lucky explores what it means to be happy, and have friendship. Death surrounds us all, but this doesn’t mean we need to be afraid of it, or talk about if we are or not. Lucky is about just that. Lucky to be here, lucky to live, lucky to have friends and experience life and what it has to offer. But in the end death comes to us all, the only thing that is inevitable. Stanton’s other comment back in 2014 encapsulates the message Lucky wishes to tell, and a very similar line to this appears in the climax of the movie itself.

“The void, the concept of nothingness, is terrifying to most people on the planet. And I get anxiety attacks myself. I know the fear of that void. You have to learn to die before you die. You give up, surrender to the void, to nothingness.”

Lucky teaches us that we shouldn’t fear death, but you must learn what death truly is. That there is no going back, no second chances. Harry Dean Stanton’s life came to a close this year, but his legacy will live on through hundreds of examples of what he chose to do with his life. Lucky is the final piece which closes a truly fascinating existence, which we have been blessed to witness on film. Lucky opens November 16th, 2017.

Written by Hamish Vallance

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Lay Down Sally is Australia’s answer to Book of Mormon. Laugh out loud, side splittingly, leave your face sore funny. Playing at Chapel off Chapel, the show opened last Tuesday Night to a sold out theatre. The audience and was not to be disappointed. 

Written by Spencer Hadlow, Andrew White and Taylen Furness, The show starts directly after Sally Robbins (played by Nicola Guzzardi) 2004 Olympic lay down incident. It follows on to explore Sally’s determined comeback into Australia’s heart as she battles to win Gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in cycling! With the help of Steven Bradbury and Nick Giannopolis the Australian trio sing their way into our hearts, if not to glory. 

The musical opens on a mostly bare stage with the cast already positioned in Olympic stances. On the screen were quotes about the incident from Australian public figures. From there it was catchy musical hit after hit beginning with the namesake "Lay Down Sally". 

The set remained basic with no scene changes, this was also true of costumes with the whole cast sticking to one staple look. This allowed the audience to focus completely on the script and music which were detailed and expansive. 

Behind the humour and silliness the show critiques Australias media and our almost unhealthy obsession with sport and our sporting heroes. They did this through parody with 2 media personalities commenting on Sally's struggles. By using humour to address this issue the audience is asked to consider their own role in condemning sporting losses. 

The cast was outstanding. In particular their execution of the witty dialogue and with their classically trained voices they proved the Aussie accent can be appreciated in song. The songs themselves were creative and well performed. 

The use of multimedia on the television was effectively utilised to add another layer of humour by incorporating previously filmed footage, maps and the 98 windows screen. 

While every factor of the show was enjoyable what truly tickled my fancy was the incorporation of Aussie Humour complete with classic stereotypes and icons including just juice puns, bloody oaths, and Vegemite. 

Lay Down Sally was memorable in its uniqueness and how Australian it was. A very funny and entertaining musical that everyone should take the time to see even if you don't like musicals.  It's playing at Chapel off Chapel until the 24th of October so don't miss it!

Written by Samara Barr

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Samara Barr reviews Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, a co-production between Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre written by Tom Waits and William S. Burroughs that's playing until October 8.

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Everyone loves a good ghost story whether to try and debunk the paranormal, persuade a non-believer, or encourage discussion on the afterlife. For me ghost stories take me back to Cub Scout campfires and sleepovers with torches. Phil Spencer's Hooting and Howling captures this essence of story telling in a delightful and highly entertaining manner as he recounts his own experience of hunting down a ghost, complete with spooky torch light.

Performing at The Butterfly Club on a bare stage, Phil conjures up an atmospheric world of senses through words alone, taking us to another time. The story is complemented by the enchanting Julia Johnson, whose soulful voice added an ethereal layer and depth to the performance. Her skill with the banjo enhances the humour and tone of the different plot points. Breaking up the story with song gives the audience time to absorb the content and consider their own opinions.

Combining storytelling and stand up comedy conventions, Phil leads us on a journey to cockatoo island in Sydney on a ghost hunt. the simplicity of the plot was created into a spellbinding tale of the different people he met, the emotions he felt, and mundane aspects worthy of inspection. His talent with different impersonations is impressive, transporting the viewer to Cockatoo Island to soak in the atmosphere and Phil's perspective of that night.

As the telling continues, Phil has moments of self-awareness and introspection which increases our relationship with him. While predominantly a comedy, Phil intertwines beautiful philosophical thoughts we have all had in the past - such as "What happens after death?" - and in doing so confronts the loss of someone dear to him. This added meaning to an otherwise playful sketch. Overall, Hooting & Howling is a piece that made me happy in a quiet and thoughtful way, something that is overlooked in our crazy world. It had strength in the straightforwardness of the telling and Phil's effervescent stage persona breathed life and depth into creating the world.

Hooting & Howling is playing at the Butterfly club until Monday 25th so don't miss it! I would highly recommend for an enjoyable and fun evening out.

By Samara Barr

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If you’re going to go to a magic show, you really need to let yourself try and enjoy it. It sounds weird, but if you’re skeptical and you go into a magic show, don’t expect much. Honestly you shouldn’t even really be there. So, going to a magic festival is definitely not something for the complete unbelievers. I took my partner along to this show, as I felt it would be an experience that needs to be shared. In the foyer, other magicians showed off their skills, but we were more enthralled by the friendly rabbits making their way through people's legs on the floor. Soon after we headed into a much smaller, more intimate room for the actual show we were there for, White Lies by Pierre Ulric.

Ulric is a likeable, eccentric man with a well-trimmed beard and glint behind his eyes. The main basis behind the show is time, which I liked. Every time he finished with a segment he turned over an hourglass, the room would go dark, then light again, and he would address us as though we were in a different time of the show, jumping between the ending, the start and halfway through. I liked this consistency, as he repeated tricks which shouldn’t be capable of repeating, such as emptying and always refilling a water bucket each time. No one seemed to notice what I found much more interesting, which was his watch. Each time he would lock it in his briefcase, and in the next segment it would be back on his hand. Even when i was on stage later when he had the watch on, i didn't see one in the briefcase. Magic, people.

Unsurprisingly as we even changed seats at the start of the show to be closer to the front (to the dismay of my anxiety-ridden girlfriend), we were of course targeted to be part of the show itself. We helped do a magic trick with cards which apparently would confirm if we were right for each other. Both drawing correct cards corresponding with important dates with each other, we obviously are meant to be. Other tricks in the show included a cool bending of metal, which went slightly wrong when it didn’t seem to work with a saw, and a final big reveal in the end where four cards corresponded with four different people on stage. It was slightly anticlimactic, but ended the show nicely. At the end of the show, I did notice someone who obviously didn’t seem to give in to the magic. He complained about tricks and tried to explain to others how it was done, which I think is pretty unnecessary. Magic might or might not be real, but that's the reason it has a following. We aren’t supposed to know, which the enticing feature. So go about with magic how you wish, but if you do decide to go to a show, don’t just ruin it for other people. White Lies performance at the Melbourne Magic Festival might be over, but for more info about his other shows check out his website pierreulric.com.

Written by Hamish Vallance

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