Innocence

This film took my breath away. It's been many months, perhaps years, since I last felt so moved by a feature film.

Paul Cox has certainly outdone himself with this one. There were times when I was reminded of `A Woman's Tale', his offering from around ten years ago, particularly during the discussions about life, death and love. In particular, his theme about death being a part of life continues in this feature.

The performances of Tingwell, Blake and Norris are outstanding, and the scenes of intimacy are tasteful and beautiful. The Australian scenes were filmed in Adelaide, and this city scrubs up well and does the story justice.

Cox makes ample use of his usual visual signatures - faces through glass doors, reflections in water, wind chimes, caged birds, people talking from the other side of trees in autumnal glory. However, for me, the scene in the church when Andreas plays `Jerusalem' on the pipe organ, managed to gather together the visual with the aural, and deliver a hefty dose of the emotional as well.

An astonishing film, and the most believable love story I have ever seen on the big screen.

In these times of recovery from terrorist-caused disasters, as our country feels threatened with a kind of national paranoia, this lovely film brings its humanity to our torn psyches. It solves nothing...nor does it pretend to. The rare depiction of elderly lovers as well as the considerations of the relation of death to life in a non-maudlin fashion are to be applauded. Paul Cox has brought us a film to savor, rich with imagery, fine performances and thoughtful concepts. As with his splendid film "Lonely Hearts" the poignancy of relationship, and the need of the human spirit to be fulfilled through love and sexuality is dealt with sensitively and with a maturity of vision. I highly recommend this film to anyone, young or old, looking for more than sensationalism, special effects or a quick fix.

As a woman of 'a certain age' I speak from experience. The sentimentality seemed to me to be excessive. I found the story to be plausible, and the cast superb; it was in the execution that Paul Cox revealed an idealistic approach to men and women in love (at any age). I swear I aged an entire year during this 90-minute experience. I found myself taking deep breaths, wanting to say "Move it along, Paul, give up the ponderosity, let's see the amazing vitality that a love affair injects into formerly perfunctory lives. (That, unfortunately, happened in only one scene ... at the home of friends.) The flashbacks to the young lovers seemed repetitious because there was no progression, no development of the characters Again, I wanted to say, "We get it, Paul, we get it, they were in love--and no different from any couple in love." The ending could have been so much more interesting if Mr. Cox had not, indeed, taken the easy way out. However, I salute the effort to depict us oldsters as something other than grumpy grannies/gramps or eccentric fools.

Writer, director Paul Cox's `Innocence' may be about senior-citizen love, but it really is about how we must be ready when love arrives or when it returns, no matter at what age. As a cautionary tale and a lyric expression of love's power, few current movies can match this film's quiet honesty.

At the same time, `Innocence' has enough aphorisms and platitudes about love and life to make it qualify for the `I am Sam/Majestic' sugar trophy. Heroine Claire's leaden comment, `Too much love is as bad as no love at all,' is one of the winners.

But then when she says to her elderly friend before their lovemaking, "If we're going to do this--let's do it like grownups. First, close the curtains. Then, close your eyes," I have to admit it made me consider that bedroom antics at any age are pretty goofy in the cold light of maturity. In this way, Cox has caught the humanity that crosses all age lines and doesn't need the excessive silent intercutting of numerous romantic reveries from the protagonists' youth.

If you see `Innocence,' you may never have to see another love story. The romance between these two almost 70 year olds is fraught with uncertainty, deception, longing, passion, and regret. It is honest about the choices we make and their consequences. It is hopeful about our ability to recoup our losses and begin again, even at life's end.

So, like our own lives and loves, the film is alternately sublime and ridiculous. View it if only to witness on film the first and last time you will see septuagenarians making love. Hey, they look just as silly as the rest of us.

"Innocence" is the perfect title for this extraordinary film, a bold and eloquent gift to moviegoers of all ages from the brilliant Paul Cox. Nearly everything is perfect about this movie, in fact, including the casting of the radiant Julia Blake and the genuinely sweet Charles 'Bud' Tingwell in the pivotal roles. If you get the chance to see this on cable some evening, as I did tonight, do not miss the opportunity.