When a family member falls into a coma (or is hospitalized for any reason), the usual reaction is to send flowers while you await their possible recovery. Stealing identities or metaphorically popping champagne is usually not on the to-do list, but the family tree inAudreyis hopelessly poisoned. It’s not good news for the comatose titular character (Josephine Blazier), but luckily for us, it means90 minutes ofunhinged black comedy and absurd one-liners.Audreygives us one of the most hilariously dysfunctional families in recent memory, with directorNatalie Baileyand writerLou Sanzselling each surreal and colorful narrative beat. The Australian film has no pretense of being realistic, which is why it is so easy to buy into, allowing us to enjoy this unabashed romp into toxic family dynamics, seizing the glory days and (twisted) sexual repression.
What Is ‘Audrey’ About?
While the film is calledAudrey, after a teenage daughter in the Lipsick household whose life is already planned for her, it is her mother, Ronnie (Jackie van Beek), who doesn’t allow the spotlight to stray from her for too long. The movie opens up with Ronnie re-watching the time she won a Logies Award for her role in an average TV show (but she was a guest star in Australian stapleNeighbours!) while lamenting her daughter’s lack of conviction in following her footsteps. But thatdoesn’t stop this mom-managerfrom pouring all their resources into acting classes and prestigious workshops for Audrey. Her dedication is unwavering, even when one of Audrey’s melodramatic tantrums on their roof leads to her ricocheting off and falling into a coma. No, Ronnie’s loyalty to her daughter’s career is so strong,she decides to steal Audrey’s identity and attend the classes on her behalf.
Meanwhile, Audrey’s father, Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), is struggling with his sexual confidence and repression, but finds an unlikely cure when he does a job for the kind-hearted Bourke (Aaron Fa’aoso). He finds his sexual awakening in the niche marketplace of directing biblical pornography, becoming somewhat of an auteur alongside Bourke. Audrey’s sister, Norah (Hannah Diviney), also benefits from Audrey’s comatose state, as Ronnie is now willing to put money into her fencing classes, something that wasn’t possible before due to Audrey’s acting and Norah’s wheelchair-related physiotherapy bills. And, of course, with Audrey unconscious, her sexually ravenous boyfriend (Fraser Anderson) has his sights set on her sister.
‘Audrey’ Is an Absurd Look at Toxic Family Dynamics
The gallows humor inAudreyisn’t for people with a weak stomach – you will need a fairly decent threshold to appreciate some of the ludicrous scenes that grace the screen. The pornography marketed to Christian couples is definitely high on the list, butother disturbing scenes may make some squirm and may offend others. However, each widely offensive, garish, and outrageous element feeds into the film’s clever way of manifesting the psychological landscape of each of their characters. It buckles down into the grittiness of relationships and socially repressive desires while splattering them across the screen in a hilarious, surreal way.
Sanz' writing is filled with absurd one-liners, including “you seduced me with your vagina,” and is chock-full of symbolism with a poisoned lemon tree anda Greek tragedy,Medea, that is frequently referenced. They are all tied together by Bailey’s offbeat direction, where the colors on the screen are so damn vibrant, it feels like an assault on the eyes,making the entire film feel like Audrey’s comatose fever dream.Everything makes you feel off-balance. With a score that is often dark yet always upbeat, the frequent use of a panning and creeping camera, and the tonal gap that exists in black comedy, it is dynamic and disorienting in every sense.
But what makes us want to saluteAudreyis how committed it is to its conceit and egregious tone, right to the very end. It has that crassirreverence that is associated with Australian cultureand stands by it proudly, pushing away any sentiment of virtuousness or redemption in that final act.It refuses to cater to any moral expectations we may have, unashamedly strutting down a delightfully atrocious path that comes as a pleasant and cheeky surprise.
‘Audrey’ Makes Its Awful Characters Annoyingly Likable
On paper, each member of the family is downright despicable in their own ways. The most obvious is Ronnie and her micromanaging tendencies, as she can’t even fathom Audrey wanting her own life, even dismissing her plans to leave for Nepal once she graduates.In any other film, we would hate her. But this isn’t a film about Audrey – it is one about how much better life is without her. By placing us firmly in the family’s perspective,it ends up villainizing Audrey, even though she is arguably the victim in this household, simply lashing out at the surrounding circumstances. Our skewed loyalties are mainly cemented by their performances, somehow making these awful characters likable.
Van Beek takes the center stage with her theatrical and fiendish performance as Ronnie, who gives everything she does a larger-than-life feel. Even when she is sitting by the pool, eating a sandwich, and bawling her eyes out, there is a performative quality to it that ensures our eyes are glued to her. Taylor, however, keeps his performance subdued in comparison, allowing his more reserved facial expressions and longing stares to convey his character’s desires. This makes him feel like a grounded counterpart, becoming our rock in the melodrama. Norah is as frank as they come, with Diviney giving her a deceptive plainness that evolves into something more eerily touching in the final act.
While Audrey is in a comatose state for half of the film, whenever she is awake, Blazier has a satisfyingly acerbic delivery with an already sharp script. If van Beek, Taylor, and Diviney are working to make their characters likable,Blazier does everything to make Audrey the opposite and succeeds.All we are really exposed tois her grating teenage side, one that Blazier cinches with that irritating eye roll and sharp edge in her screams. As such, the film is provocative in how it portrays these family dynamics, making us root for the morally questionable side until we have to stop and think about it after the jaw-dropping conclusion.
Audreyis now available on VOD services in the U.S.
Self-appointed Mother of the Year, Ronnie has given her daughter Audrey everything, so when Audrey selfishly falls into a coma, Ronnie has no choice but to keep their dreams alive by assuming her identity.
