Innuendo

Innuendo is a low/zero budget independent film that can keep you entertained throughout the whole film if you are ok with films with low production value. This is thanks to its well written story which is its strength. But then it is let down by the moments that really show the lack of budget, and these moments are enough to take you out of the film.

The film is cast of some practicing actors and some amateurs, and while this can work well on some films, in this case the good performances of the leading cast are overshadowed by the lacklustre performances of the supporting cast and the extras.

All low budgets independent films are a mammoth task to complete, so what this film has achieved with the low budgets is commendable. I'm surely if the key creatives had more time and budgets they could've done much better. And I look forward to their next project.

An amazing talent which had me constantly thinking! Looking forward to her future work. The entire cast was excellent and the story line was so engaging. Just when you think you are on track with the story a new twist emerges! Saara is a fantastic talent and I wish her the best of luck!

The film's production notes rather comically dare to compare this amateurish Indi piece to the work of David Lynch and Roman Polanski among others. These pretensions to greatness are sadly misplaced in this budget-priced flick which admittedly does contain a heady mixture of twins, chainsaws, nude modelling, murder and the most garish collection of wigs you are guaranteed to have ever seen continually paraded on screen. Does seem like a project with which Lynch might want to involve himself, but sadly folks, he's not there.

Writer/Producer/Director/Lead Actor Saara Lamberg clearly has ambitions to create an intriguing web of mystery for the audience with this tale of a Finnish twin leaving her supposedly dysfunctional family and travelling to Australia to start her life anew. A rather large hurdle she has to overcome however, is that she can't act to save herself and she's onscreen for much of the movie's running time. Go figure. Brendon Bacon, as the nominal male lead is a little more convincing as Ben, her chainsaw-sculpting companion in the second half of the film.

Special mention needs to be made of the soundtrack music by someone by the name of Charly Harrison. Suffice to say, it's nails dragged across a blackboard aurally excruciating. Its repetitive drone is dished up right throughout the film , challenging us to decipher the dialogue being spoken by a cast perhaps best described as enthusiastic, rather than professional.

One certainly has to admire Director Lamberg for obviously being prepared to devote so much of herself in getting this project to the screen, but I for one hope that any future works, see her anchored firmly behind, rather than in front of the camera.

Saara Lamberg brings to life the quirky, unhinged and deliciously despicable character Tuuli who travels to Australia to start a new life after leaving her homeland in Finland. Tuuli uses her sexual power to get what she wants from men, and leaves behind a trail of destruction and devastation. We discover early on that Tuuli has a twin Suvi, and the film jumps back and forth from the past in Finland to the present day. Ms. Lamberg plays both roles with pathos, also the subtle nuances required to convey each character is ever so present which is a testament to Saara's skill as an actor. Innuendo features many local actors from Melbourne, notably Andy Hazel who plays the timid and dejected Thomas and Brendan Bacon delivers an engaging, heartfelt and cheeky performance as the love interest Ben.

Shot in Melbourne, Australia and in Finland on a micro budget, the debut feature also written and directed by Saara Lamberg leaves the viewer absolutely mesmerized by chainsaw sculpting, nude modelling, very very fringe and experimental theatre and the utterly reprehensible actions of the protagonist.

A truly ambitious independent feature that delves into the psyche. The talented Saara Lamberg is definitely one to watch in the future.

The set up of Innuendo is that the heroine has left her religiously and sexually oppressive parents in her home in Finland, along with her favoured twin sister, for a life in Australia. Her past has rendered her a completely insular character, almost monosyballic, who repels or attacks almost all form of interaction.

Watching a character give nothing to anyone makes the film hard to stick with for a long time. I felt like I was getting nowhere, and not wondering 'Where is this going?' but 'Will this go anywhere?' Knowing so little of the backstory at this point, I didn't think Saara Lamberg's performance was giving me enough hint of what was hidden to hold my interest

Slowly, violence and weird fantasies start to creep in, and the film gathers more of a hold as it continues. Seeing more of the heroine on her own in more extreme situations, not just fobbing off all the other characters, also starts to suggest more her inner turmoil, which is the point of interest needed to focus everything.

There are some audacious scenes, painful and ominous and true scenes, and some strong performances. I think Lamberg is really good in multiple roles, it's just that for too long in the film, the screenplay (her own) keeps the character too barricaded. Ultimately Innuendo ends much stronger than it began, which is way better than the opposite, and has resonance. But much of it is a slog on the way to building to that point. Flawed but with value.