Cast: Peter Fenton, Sacha Horler
Director: John Curran
Producer: Martha Coleman
Screenplay: Andrew McGahan based on his novel
Cinematography: Dion Beebe
Music: Warren Ellis
The basic story of Praise, from first-time director John Curran, is fairly simple: a laid-back, chain-smoking asthmatic named Gordon (Peter Fenton) becomes involved with Cynthia (Sacha Horler, who gives a stunning performance), a nymphomaniac afflicted with severe eczema. From the start, their co-dependent relationship is not healthy, but, as the gulf between their sexual needs widens, they begin to grate on one another. It is clear from the beginning that the better developed and more interesting of the two protagonists is Cynthia. So, when the concluding scenes focus not on her, but on the considerably less engaging Gordon, the resulting anticlimax causes the otherwise-searing movie to end on a discordant note.
Despite the off-key finale, Praise is still a powerful and occasionally disturbing experience. It's the kind of thing I like to see at film festivals, because, even though it isn't fully satisfying, it's offbeat and challenging. Praise certainly won't be playing in any multiplexes, although it may eventually find its way into a few North American art houses. The reason for the limited distribution is obvious: the sex scenes, while not pornographic, are explicit, and there's no way the film could get away with anything less restrictive than an NC-17.
Most movies, especially mainstream ones, like to tap-dance around sexual themes for fear of offending a puritanical audience. Praise attacks these issues head-on by illustrating the kinds of sexual trade-offs that have to be endured for a relationship to work. In this case, it's the woman who has the sexually voracious appetite and the man who is passive, but the patterns would be similar if the circumstances were reversed. Praise is as honest emotionally at it is when dealing with sexual issues - it doesn't lather on the melodrama to make its point. It is compelling precisely because it stays focused on the characters and their dysfunctional, psychologically complex relationship. And actors Horler and Fenton act and look like real people - they don't have model-perfect bodies, which adds to the movie's sense of authenticity. Praise is an impressive debut, marking Curran as someone to watch in the future.
© 1999 James Berardinelli