The Eye of the Storm

Alright so it's a little 'literary' and the 70s it is ostensibly set in are a little wobbly (it's like you have to remind yourself periodically it's not contemporary), but this unusual family drama is full of surprises and twists as well as a rich and rewarding script that exposes and confronts all the petty squabbles and festering resentments of many a family, and which typically come to a head when a patriarch or matriarch (in this case, Charlotte Rampling) is on the way out. She is serene and strangely humorous, as if she's made her peace and has new insight, while children Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis) continue to clash egos, because both of them have them in spades! The kind of film you can revisit and probably find more each time.

THE EYE OF THE STORM is the story of a dying matriarch and her estranged adult children, both of whom have been big disappointments to her. The "kiddies," as she calls them, come home to Sydney on word that their mother is dying. But the bittersweet reunion only stirs up old resentments and disappointments on all sides. Flashbacks fill in the story of the mother as she sinks into dementia.

Superb acting by Charlotte Rampling as the unchanging mother who lavishes her attention (and gifts) on her nurses and housekeeper while dismissing her own children as greedy moochers. Judy Davis plays the uptight Dorothy, a divorced woman who married a prince but retained only the title after her marriage crumbled. Geoffrey Rush plays Basil, the unsuccessful actor whose time for stardom has passed. They both wrangle with the unflinching mother and her lawyer and battle the house staff who treat them as enemies.

It's a battle of wills (pun intended) as the children fight the mother, who at the last moment tries to change her will to disinherit her own children after she learns of their plan to put her in a home.

The three stars are nothing short of superb. Helen Morse plays Lotte the housekeeper, who entertains the old woman with bits from her old German cabaret act. Alexandra Schepisi plays the nurse with designs on Basil. John Gaden plays the lawyer. Colin Friels plays the sleazy politician.

The location cinematography is gorgeous. Directed by Fred Schepisi, based on a novel by Patrick White.

A long and engrossing film, well worth finding and savoring.

'The Eye of the Storm' has Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis returning from overseas to visit their ailing mother (unprobably played by Charlotte Rampling) who lives in a big house where the staff are there for her entertainment as much as to care for her. I've mixed feelings about this; I like a good drama, but some parts of it are decidedly iffy (for instance, a flashback featuring Rampling and Davis has the latter looking older than the woman playing her mother!) Rush probably over-eggs the pudding in his role as an old thesp, but Davis is good as the dissatisfied wife of a French prince (? I thought they didn't have those anymore). Rampling is superb: I don't usually rate her as an actress - her performances are almost always so studied she can never convince me she's not acting - but here she really sinks her teeth into the role of an old woman who knows her children's main interest in her is when she's going to die.

Patrick White earned a Nobel Prize for literature. Having read only one of his novels and found it 'heavy', I was keen to see what someone could do to The Eye of the Storm. Given the director was Fred Schepisi, I knew it would be 'different'. First find a screenwriter. Judy Morris is an accomplished actor. I expected to see an 'actor's' film, with great lines and self-evident visuals. Yes, Judy Morris can write, and rather more clearly than Patrick White. Look for her in one of the scenes! Next find a cast. "Storm' has brilliant people. To nominate just one, Helen Morse proves that she can sing and dance, skills that I'd not seen before. Rush and Rampling carry the action, with Alexandra, Schepisi's daughter, a clever foil. Judy Davis has a face that seems to accommodate any role.

No, I won't be reading this novel. What we see here is a great motion picture. We've become accustomed to Australian films depicting poverty, isolation, and mayhem. This has an air of opulence and connectedness.

I bought this DVD on a whim and last night sat down to watch it. I've long been a fan of the three main actors, so knew it would be worthwhile, and could be stunning. I was not disappointed. Charlotte Rampling has always excelled in playing the really nasty person you can't imagine ever meeting, and in this she does not disappoint. It's unfortunate that she is not in her eighties or even seventies, because as one reviewer has noted, she's only a few years older than her 'children' in this. Geoffrey Rush is like chocolate, smooth and irresistible, and he uses this charm, but also reveals himself as a loser (we're talking character here)and with vulnerabilities. Judy Davis tries to be a hard-bitten bitch but until the end wants her mother to love her. True, the carers of the old woman love her more than her children - as is so often the case - and the lawyer and his wife straddle the divide between the two attitudes. It's a fascinating human story, with the flashbacks being non-intrusive and essential to the story. I loved it, but I've not read the book or know any of the background aspects. I don't enjoy the cinema so much nowadays, so to watch a good quality drama on the appliance in the corner is a joy.