SIRENS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1994 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: This is a delicious Australian comedy
based on around real incident from the 1930s. An English
vicar visits the estate of an Australian famous for painting
female nudes to convince the artist not to exhibit a painting
deemed blasphemous. Instead the vicar's wife is seduced by
the sensuous atmosphere surrounding the artist. Rating: +2
(-4 to +4)
It was the 1930s and the Australian art world was shocked by the so- called immoral paintings of Norman Lindsey. There were some people who were irritated as he has painted picture after picture with sensuous female nudes. But for some, particularly for the local religious authorities, this time he had gone too far. A local exhibition included a crucified female nude. Around this minor controversial episode of art history John Duigan has written and directed the most enchanting comedy film since last year's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
Anthony Campion (played by Hugh Grant) is an English vicar visiting Australia. His travel plans will take him near Lindsay's studio/home. He is given the mission of visiting Lindsay (played by Sam Neill) and convincing him to pull the offending painting from exhibition. Campion is deemed an ideal choice since he cannot possibly appear to represent outdated ideas to Lindsay. After all Campion was actually was a bit of a progressive himself at Oxford. And Campion even goes so far as to smoke Turkish cigarettes and call his pretty wife "Piglet." Lindsay can't help but be impressed by a free thinker like that, can he? Instead there will be a clash of worldviews and Estella (a.k.a. Piglet) will discover there is an entire sensuous world she never knew.
This is a story about conflicting worldviews. In spite of considering himself very liberal, Anthony lives in a world of strict, church-dictated limits. Lindsay, his wife, and his three models live in a world of frequent nudity, open discussion of sex, promiscuity, and omni-present paintings and statues of female nudes that unnerves even the neighbors. But it is clear that the Campions are not prepared to survive in this hostile Australian world. There is a running gag about hostile animal attacks going on all around and the Campion's fear, though they themselves never meet anything more savage than the odd wallaroo. They seem to be followed by a snake, but his presence seems more metaphorical than real. Nature really seems toward them to be its most benevolent and beautiful, as if on its best behavior for guests.
Hugh Grant, does a terrific job of trying to seem free-thinking and yet being horribly inhibited. In the presence of nude models his worldly exterior gives way to flustered stuttering. Tara Fitzgerald of HEAR MY SONG initially matches here husbands disapproval of the sensuous lifestyle but slowly defrosts with time. There is a marvelous duality in her performance as she tries to appear straight-laced to her husband while exploring a side of herself that she has hidden from herself and others. Unfortunately Sam Neill has little to do in his performance but appeal worldly and in a way almost fatherly to the models he paints nude. He is almost the opposite of his character in THE PIANO.
SIRENS is often very funny and at the same time serves as a sort of down-under Monroe Doctrine saying "The is Australia--no Pat Robertsons are welcome." I give it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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