Radiance

Radiance Radiance follows a similar theme to two other quality Australian films; Vacant Possession and Hotel Sorrento. Sisters return to their family home, reunited by the death or impending death of a parent. Radiance has three sisters gathering at a North Queensland bungalow after the death of their mother. Tensions simmer and erupt. Secrets are revealed. Social conventions are explored and confronted. Superlative performances from the actresses lift this film way beyond the average. Louis Nowra's script again exhibits a knowing wit which is especially suited to stage, but Radiance is perhaps even better on the big screen. Nowra's Cosi delighted many Aussies and Radiance won't disappoint.

It's a curious thing that a death in a family brings out in the survivors a need to tell the truth about the deceased and each other. Family history is re-written and relationships re-adjusted (or laid waste). The worst peril of a funeral is not the emotional upheaval but the thought that the way you feel about your family might never be the same. Why confess, when we're all much better off believing in the lone stranger, or "black prince" as here? Well, there is a reason, according to this film. If you can survive the shock of finding out the truth, you will come out of it the stronger, and so will your most important relationships. Party girl Nona returns to her Queensland coastal home to find her mother has just died. Her famous opera singing sister Cressy arrives also. Their stay at home sister Mae is pretty morose but it takes a while to find out why. After the funeral, attended only by the sisters, the story starts to emerge. There is a night of booze and catharsis. The next day the sisters find themselves both bonded and liberated.

"Radiance" originated as a stage play, and it shows. Against that the director, Rachel Perkins has made full use of the Hervey Bay, Queensland, coastal landscape. The three sisters are aboriginal Australians, but this is almost incidental. As Nona, the party girl, Deborah Mailman is full of vigour and fresh sexuality. Rachel Maza plays the worldly opera singer Cressy with a complementary languidness. Stay at home Mae radiates resentment, yet in the end it is she who is the agent of liberation for them all.

A fine drama beautifully realised.

Rachel Perkins took on Radiance with a great deal of care, intelligence and humour. The three main roles of the ensemble cast shine through Rachel's direction which allows the actors to explore their characters through the range of emotions of experience. Deborah Mailman who, nominated for an AFI award for her performance, is outstanding as Nona the young kid both lost and assured of who she is and what she wants. Still both Rachael Mazza (Chressy) and Trisha Morton-Thomas (Mae) are oustanding as well, Nona's humour guarantees her as the audience favourite. What outstounds me about Radiance is that it is an Australian film - one which doesn't go pastiche with quirkiness (say Welcome to Woop Woop) or the propaganda rallying call of Ostrailya. Radiance, like Head On, exists as a film about characters and a story. Three Aboriginal women who react and change in each others presence without delivering any Certified Political Message (TM)... it "informs the characters" Rachel says in JJJ interview. Alcholism isn't an issue it's an experience; the Stolen Generation isn't an epitaph but a reality for the characters. In short I was quite taken by this film because of its intelligence, strength and humour and it most definitely deserves both an Australian and International audience.

I was enchanted and romanced by three lovable wicked sisters. I love the one liners. I love the crude remarks. I love the clashes and I love the final outcome. You could say I enjoyed this film. The Luis Nowra play transported nicely onto the screen with the help of an observing eye from Rachel. Please throw more money her way, I can see this filmmaker maturing with every work she may create.

Three sisters are reunited by their mother's death. Having led separate lives, the girls seem to have little in common. The intense Mae stayed with Mum to the end. The brooding Chrissy has pursued a singing career overseas, the vivacious Nona is just becoming a woman. The funeral itself is a very sad affair. It seems reconciliation is still a long way off in this part of Australia. A single woman of dubious morality, and aboriginal at that, did not make for a large congregation of mourners. The girls get on with the grieving process as best they can, but it will come as no surprise that as well as Mum's ashes in the can, there are a few skeletons in this family's closet. A wonderful script gives credibility to this excellent drama with operatic overtones. Beautifully shot among the canefields on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, this is a story, indeed an epic for any millenium.