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Playing Beatie Bow
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A film for children, adapted from a 1980 novel by prolific author Ruth Park [1917-2010]. Beyond the often dreary formula of the “kids’ movie”, this is an attempt at crafting a genuinely imaginative piece of fiction for young spectators (especially the “young teen” or YA/Young Adult market niche). It’s set in Sydney’s The Rocks neighbourhood, which is well used as a cinematic location. The plot centres on modern-day teenage Abigail (Imogen Annesley who, beyond a great deal of TV, also later featured in Philippe Mora’s Howling III: The Marsupials [1987]) and the companion she conjures from 1873, Beatie Bow (Mouche Phillips, later a fixture of the TV soap Home and Away). Following her new friend back into the past, Abigail finds herself hailed as the Christ-like bearer of a mysterious Gift – although the sacrifice (indeed, death) that comes with this Gift, it is assumed, will fall on the shoulders of one of the Bow children. This is merely the beginning of a complicated time-travel and destiny-altering conceit. At the heart of this tale, as in much fiction for children, is a matter of coming to terms with moral responsibility and consequences – as well as, in Abigail’s case, arriving at more empathy for and understanding of the marital problems of her parents (Lyndel Rowe as mum Kathy became yet another soap actor, on Sons and Daughters). A curious echo of Back to the Future (1985)! It is also a rite of passage story, as Abigail travels though love and puberty via her encounter with Judah (Peter Phelps), already pledged to another. Womanhood, it is suggested, must be won through the facing of danger, threat and looming decadence. As well, there’s a minor set of socio-historical observations peppering the script (by Peter Gawler and Irwin Lane) concerning the role of disease, and the need for indigenous self-rule. The film has its share of problems, at least some of which must be attributed to the uneven direction of Donald Crombie (Caddie, 1976). Tone-wise, the comedy is executed uncertainly – defusing the seriousness of the necessary threat element (eg., the snakes scene). Some moments of intensity are cardboard or cute – too formulaic and pre-announced. The diagram of diverse character relationships is hardly at the level of Johnny Guitar (1954) intricacy. There are spotty problems with the youthful acting, the accents, and the post-sync dubbing – mainstream Australian cinema is often a post-sync nightmare for the ears. And finally in this checklist, the sections set in the modern world are simply dramatically unconvincing and flat in contrast to the cinematically expressive conjuring of the past. But this brings us to a positive point. The most pleasing aspect of Playing Beatie Bow is its inventive use of the period setting – not ostentatiously or for its own “authentic” sake, but to create a physical world that is meaningful and expressive, full of alleys, passageways, lines of flight, openings, obstacles, stairways … A picture of Abigail’s mind, ultimately. © Adrian Martin August 1986 |
