A Month of Sundays

Real estate agent Frank Mollard (Anthony LaPaglia) can't move on. Divorced but still attached, he can't connect with his teenage son. One night Frank gets a phone call from his mother who died a year ago. This leads him to explore his grief with wise elder, Sarah played by Julia Blake ('Man of Flowers', 'Prisoner', 'Innocence', 'Wolverine').

Set in the leafy suburban streets of picturesque Adelaide, it's a gentle tale of modern life during a real estate boom and of the human connection that makes a house a home. It is really about everything; parents, children, regrets, love, work, grief and ordinary people finding improbable salvation.

Adelaidey-odlians will find it especially poignant because it involves a nostalgic nod to the ¼ acre block with fruit trees that is rapidly being consigned to history. But with the superb cast, it's a very fine film, regardless. LaPaglia (ex-Norwood High School) and Julia Blake (at 79 years) are note perfect in the lead roles.

LaPaglia's real estate agent, Frank, is a sad sack with his rut deeply, sharply cut. All locations are described with his realtor's double-speak, even when he comes home to his Linden Park unit after work; "Needs a little attention, decorator's dream" etc.

Mixed with the serious themes, there's plenty to laugh at in Frank's interactions with his newly successful ex-wife played by Justine Clarke, and in his clumsy interactions with his son and potential home-buyers. His boss is played by ex-Kiwi, the beloved comic John Clarke who inevitably steals all his scenes with hilarious dead-pan contributions. There's also a hearing impaired element to the story which can make this film that rare, rich experience for the deaf community (in its closed caption version) and the wider audience.

With equal parts comedy, tragedy and heart-warming wisdom, writer director Matthew Saville (Tim Winton's 'Cloudstreet', 'Roy Hollsdotter Live' & Chris Lilley films) has created an understated masterpiece to sit alongside great suburban Adelaide films such as 'Travelling Light', 'Return Home' and 'Look Both Ways'. (Snowtown is in another genre!) Cinematographer Mark Wareham throws our streets and backyards onto the big screen with great understanding and skill, so best get yourself secure housing in Adelaide if you can, before the whole world sees this big-hearted film and comes a-bidding.

Andrew Bunney, Let's Go to the Pictures, 9-11 AM Thursday, 3D Radio, Adelaide 937FM, Digital, iTunes

The movie goes along at a medium pace with an original theme, with a couple of twists thrown in.

The acting was all good.

Nice locations.

A good to watch on a Sunday afternoon.

Very cute ozzie film. Frank, a real estate dude has a bad attitude, and everything seems to be coming apart. His marriage, his relationship with his kid. Weird convo's with his boss. Through by a rando, chance meeting, he ends up speaking with, and finally meeting a sweet lady, a senior citizen across town. She already has her own son, but frank and sarah strike up friendship. And he ends up learning some lessons from her. Very cute, sweet film. The only face i recognize here is tony lapaglia, who actually really IS an ozzie originally! This one really is under-rated on imdb. Only 500 votes so far, but it has been nominated for a bunch of film fest awards! Written and directed by matthew saville. Looking forward to seeing more of his work! This one was fun to watch.

A sweet little movie with great characters and a pleasantly optimistic plot about dealing with grief and life's challenges. Lapaglia is great and the support cast excellent.

I nice little Aussie gem. Americans can learn a lot about sweet movies that you don't gag on.

Some films attract critical consensus while others trigger polar opposite opinions like A Month of Sundays (2016). Australian colloquial drama is not for everyone and it takes patience to engage with slow-paced laconic narratives that rely on insider humour for meaning. Aussie horrors and dystopian thrillers are well known but there are few films that stand tall for sensitively exploring the inner world of male emotion. In fact, we have culturally fortified ourselves with a style of Ocker farce to shield us from knowing too much about what lurks within the Australian male.

Lacklustre real estate agent Frank (Anthony LaPaglia) is the quintessential Aussie bloke. He is a poor salesman and has neither the verbal wit or emotional maturity to deal with the double-barrel grief of his recent divorce or his mother's recent death. By extraordinary coincidence he takes a misdirected call from Sarah (Julia Blake) who sounds just like his mother and the few minutes on the phone fills an emotional void. One thing leads to another, they become friends, and Frank learns to open up on the various emotional fronts of his life. The sub-plot lines include redeeming the relationship with his son, resolving feelings about his wife and mother, dealing with Sarah's health issues, and experiencing the ordinary pleasure of being nice to people. It's a simple narrative arc, but dense with emotional side-tracks and blockages that Frank cannot resolve alone. Themes of emotional estrangement, aging, death and grief are lightened by the deadpan humour exchanged between Frank and his boss (John Clarke) and the constant running commentary in real estate language, a clever device that mocks the Aussie obsession with property ownership.

The filming has many long fixed frames and scenes where nothing happens except what we can infer is going on inside Frank's head. When he appears to be struggling emotionally, the recurring real estate babble kicks in to punctuate the silence while he retreats into his private world of make- believe sales talk with imaginary buyers. Some critics have panned the film's central premise and slow-burn plot, but it stands out as a thoughtful and well-acted portrait of an emotionally convoluted archetypal Australian male who exists just this side of clinical depression. Frank is ordinariness personified and not very likable at all, but he is very recognisable in this country. This is an original funny-sad look at a type of Aussie male who should watch this film for their own good.