Shadows on the Wall | Seriously Red

Seriously Red

dir Gracie Otto
scr Krew Boylan
prd Robyn Kershaw, Jessica Carrera, Sonia Borella, Timothy White
with Krew Boylan, Daniel Webber, Celeste Barber, Thomas Campbell, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Jean Kittson, Todd Lasance, Wayne Blair, Sarah Su, Dannii Minogue, Jack Thompson
release Aus Jun.22 sff,
US 10.Feb.23, UK 13.Feb.23
22/Australia 1h38

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Packed with fantastic songs, this warm Australian comedy centres on a woman who abandons her respectable life to embrace the performer she's always been inside. It's a clever film about identity and ambition that isn't afraid to go for both a cheap laugh and a grim emotion. So in the tradition of Muriel's Wedding, the movie is both funny and darkly dramatic, always ready to sidestep the usual formula.

Misunderstanding the dress code for an office party, Red (Boylan) turns up as Dolly Parton and decides to go with it. She catches the eye of talent manager Teeth (Barber), whose impersonator clients include Elvis (Byrne) and Kenny Rogers (Webber). So Red ditches her property job to pursue this new career, moving in with her lively friend Francis (Campbell). As Teeth gets her on stage as Dolly, she impresses boss Wilson (Cannavale), a former Neil Diamond act, with her quick-witted repartee. And as she becomes Kenny's partner on-stage and off, her star begins to rise.

Scenes are packed with tribute performers, adding amusingly messy star power to the movie, as they're both ridiculous and fabulous at the same time. Most characters basically live as the person they are mimicking, which adds offbeat edges to Red's connections with both Elvis and Kenny. Director Otto keeps the imagery colourful, playing up the camp elements while honing in on the more serious story that's going on under the surface.

Actor-writer Boylan has terrific presence, radiating Red's bright personality even when she's performing as Dolly. She's especially strong in scenes with Kittson as Red's mother, who doesn't believe in her daughter as Red, let alone Dolly. Their complex relationship is the film's heart, and is nicely underplayed. Webber has a lovely loose charm as a guy who has almost forgotten who he really is, while Campbell offers a layered take on the lively best friend. And Byrne and Cannavale get some strong moments of their own.

As the real Dolly says, "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." This film follows Red as she dives deeply under her idol's skin, finding herself but also running the real risk of losing her identity. Red's story heads to a pivotal moment that feels a bit too serious for journey she has travelled to this point. It's also an offbeat kind of catharsis that has something important to say and is genuinely heartwarming, even if her final destination feels slightly anti-climactic.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 24.Jan.23

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