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Birthday (Film)

by Catherine Brown | October 25, 2011 09:24 | Edited October 25, 2011 09:25

Uncompromising, ambitious character drama unable to translate into effective cinema.

James Harkness' film adaptation of his play, Birthday, is an in-cohesive mash up of grand ideas that unfortunately never come together to form a copasetic whole. The film centres on M, one of the most popular sex workers at Scarlet's brothel, who enjoys pondering the mysteries of life, love and religion. It's M's birthday, but instead of celebrating the occasion, she spends her day interacting with friends, colleagues and clients; each reinforcing in their own way that while sex doesn't sell in the way that it used to, love is always in demand.

 

Like many other stage adaptations, Birthday is heavy on dialogue and thin on plot. We rarely leave the brothel, and whilst a confined setting is not always a hindrance to a film, Harkness unfortunately attempts to over compensate for the lack of variety with long monologues of bloated dialogue which is often not as profound or enlightening as it wants to be.

 

The performances are also somewhat hit and miss. Lead Natalie Eleftheriadis, who originated the role of M in the stage production, makes a valiant attempt at the material, but hasn't quite mastered the subtleties required for film performance. Showbiz veteran, Chantal Contouri, could also be accused of the same thing, with her overly hammy performance as Madam Scarlet perhaps better being suited to the theatre. Rounding out the cast is Travis McMahon, who is quite effective as the tortured and conflicted Father Philip, while Wolf Creek's Kestie Morassi makes an admirable attempt at injecting vigour into the predictable role of Lily, your stereotypical tart with a heart. Birthday has its flaws, but should also be admired for its bravery. Although the film never quite pulls off what it intends, Harkness should still be praised for never compromising his unique vision.