by Erin Free
Worth: $17.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Monique Kalmar, Max Brown, Georgia Anderson, Rebekah Elmaloglou
Intro:
... a colourful, emotionally intelligent delve into the heart of an Australian family.
The appropriately named From All Sides is literally a film you just don’t see coming. It begins with a forty-something couple sitting and chatting happily in what looks like a decidedly louche nightclub. In a few moments, however, said couple is involved in a full-frontal, get-amongst-it, nude-bodies-writhing, bisexual orgy with a wide variety of much younger, obviously very sexually adventurous, gender-fluid partyers. A few more moments later, said couple arrives at the home of an elderly woman to pick up their teenage kids. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bolder, more eye-opening kick-off to an Aussie film in many, many years, and thankfully From All Sides has enough going on that the rest of its running time actually matches the eye-opening power of its audacious opening.
Despite what its salacious start might suggest, From All Sides is actually not some local take on Eyes Wide Shut, but rather a family-focused drama. Indian-heritage Anoushka (the impressive Monique Kalmar) and Asian-Australian Pascal (charismatic Max Brown) have an open marriage made even more open by their bisexuality and enthusiastic embrace of online dating apps. Their secretive after-hours naughtiness, however, soon begins to seep into their everyday lives and affect their kids, both of whom have problems of their own. Teen daughter Nina (the utterly delightful and physically daring Georgia Anderson, who has the kind of natural appeal and obvious talent that could lead to very big things career-wise) is making a name for herself as a dancer, but she’s also caught up in an uncertain romantic relationship. Teen son Clyde (Gavril Kumar), meanwhile, is hyped up on hip-hop and basically acting like a dickhead, much to the chagrin of his parents. Not to be left out, Pascal is testing the waters with a younger man…with Anoushka’s smirking approval. In amongst all the sexual audacity, this tightly knit Western Sydney family begins to feel a little external pressure too…
Snappily written and slickly, stylishly directed by first-timer Bina Bhattacharya, From All Sides has a lot on its mind. When you scratch away at all the sex on the surface (which includes bisexual romps, fumbling teen sex, rampant nudity and even a touch of bondage), the film’s concerns are many and varied, with modern parenting, the concept of responsibility, the act of trust, and the ugly blight of racism all playing into From All Sides. Despite the abundance of elements and thematic concerns, director Bina Bhattacharya never loses control of her material, and works well with her excellent cast, all of whom engage the audience with aplomb. A tasty, well-made cinematic treat, From All Sides is a colourful, emotionally intelligent delve into the heart of an Australian family.
