By Dov Kornits
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
The first novel from British-born, Aussie-based journalist-turned-author, Keith Austin (whose second novel, Snow, White, was released in 2014), Grymm is a creepy, surreal spin into a dark and unusual world that would make for a truly heady cinematic experience. Fourteen-year-old Mina and twelve-year-old Jacob are forced into each other’s lives when their respective parents marry. What’s worse, they now have a disgusting baby brother who their parents coddle over, but what’s even worse than that is that the family has to pack everything into the car and travel to the middle of nowhere, to a town called Grymm, of all things, so that the dad can take up a contract job with a mine. But that’s not the half of it, as the Grymm locals well and truly live up to their town’s name, and also the darkly magical elements of the fairy tales of The Brothers Grimm. The butcher and the baker are grotesque creations, and they really are just the tip of the meat cleaver. Seen through the eyes of the initially bickering Mina and Jacob, the pair then takes charge to uncover the underbelly of this godforsaken town.
WHY WOULD IT MAKE A GOOD FILM?
In terms of its production design and effects possibilities, Grymm would be unlike anything that we have done in this country, except, it seems, on Hollywood productions. Grymm is not stated as being set in Australia, but there’s Australiana written all over it. Its potential craziness and originality is reminiscent of the arrival of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro’s French cult classic, Delicatessen, which was unlike anything seen before. But at Grymm’s core is the evolving relationship between a step-brother and sister, which carries emotional heft, and would allow the audience into the story’s ghastly and fantastic world.
WHO SHOULD DIRECT IT?
Remember those Tooheys ads with the tongue? Well, they were created by Garth Davis (pictured left), who has since directed episodes of Top Of The Lake, alongside Jane Campion, and will next deliver Lion, an adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s autobiographical novel. The imaginative world of Grymm would need a strong vision, and Garth Davis might just be able to find a way into this tonally complex story, especially if he gets the casting right.
WHO SHOULD BE IN IT?
As per above, this will be key to making the film fly, and Ed Oxenbould (pictured above) – about to appear in Paper Planes, and recently seen in Puberty Blues, Soul Mates, and in the titular role in Disney’s Alexander And the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – could fill the shoes of twelve-year-old Jacob. The female lead, fourteen-year-old Mina, could be played by an aged-down Eva Lazzaro (the nineteen-year-old actress looks young, and has delivered fine performances in The Turning, Blessed, Jindabyne, and TV’s Tangle), while the roles of the kids’ parents could be ably filled by Matt Nable and Jacqueline McKenzie. But it’s the gallery of wackos that populate the town of Grymm that will offer the most possibilities, with the likes of Barry Humphries, Bruce Spence, and Magda Szubanski perfect for key supporting roles.
