Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Charlotte Rampling, George Ferrier, Marton Csokas, Edith Poor
Intro:
… great compassion and insight… really quite beautiful.
Ageing, alcoholism, loss, death, sorrow … this could have been really bleak viewing. It’s off to a slow, sad start but you’re soon drawn into the quietly compelling drama about a teenager, his father and paternal grandmother. Set in New Zealand in the ‘90s, Juniper is anchored by a strong script that wastes no words.
Juniper berries are the key ingredient of gin, which flows freely across the three generations represented in this film. Sam (George Ferrier) is a taciturn high school student who has recently lost his mother. His father Robert (Marton Csokas) has brought Sam’s wheelchair-bound grandmother, Ruth (Charlotte Rampling) from England to New Zealand to take care of her. But Robert is soon out of the picture, leaving Sam alone with Ruth and her nurse Sarah (Edith Poor) on a gorgeous slice of New Zealand countryside.
Ruth is difficult. Bitter. Blunt. She loves her gin. She swears at doctors and vicars and she’s tough on Sam, who is not remotely interested in getting to know his nan. There are no niceties. Sam will do only the bare minimum to help the incapacitated Ruth, who he calls by her first name. But this relationship is set to thaw…
There are a few moments of lightness in writer/director (and actor) Matthew Saville’s first feature, which is partly based on experiences with his own grandmother. He draws fine performances out of his cast, particularly the talented Ferrier. But the real star here is Rampling. She is subtly sensational, conveying complex emotions with a single glance. Yes, Ruth is difficult, but Rampling – now in her mid-70s – makes her unforgettable. The legendary actress worked on the script with Saville and the writer/director has described her as “intelligent, funny and a little brutal”. Seems Rampling is not unlike Ruth.
It’s a tall order, weaving these hard edged emotional themes into something balanced and watchable. It’s not as if this hasn’t been done before, but Saville’s done it extremely well, with great compassion and insight. Instead of something bleak, he’s made something that’s really quite beautiful.
