One Mann’s Movies review of “Babyteeth” (2020).
Bob the Movie Man’s Rating:
Certification:
US: MA-17. UK: 15.
Now, before I start, I know I’m likely to be at odds with a lot of viewers on this one. Having had a glance at the IMDB ratings, I can see a lot of arthouse love for this Australian movie. But this really was not for me.
A brief encounter. Without the grit in the eye. The stars Eliza Scanlen as Milla and Toby Wallace as Moses have chemistry. (Source: Entertainment One).
The plot.
Eliza Scanlen plays Australian schoolgirl Milla, displaying typically rebellious symptoms of adolescence but hampered by a crippling medical issue. She meets a 23-year old drug addict, Moses (Toby Wallace), and the pair feel an immediate pull towards each other, much to the horror of her parents Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Anna (Essie Davis). The kids are dysfunctional (for different reasons); the parents are not much better. Adding to the drama is a strange violin teacher (Eugene Gilfedder) and a pregnant (MILF-to-be) next door neighbour (Emily Barclay).
We follow the life and love of Milla as she struggles with her circumstances… and the last of her Babyteeth.
Tricky parenting. Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis. (Source: Entertainment One).
2020’s “Animals”
I can draw parallels here to the movie “Animals” from last year. Indeed to the Oscar-winner “Moonlight” from four year’s ago. I could readily perceive it to be intelligent and artfully produced. But I’m afraid I felt zero empathy or pull from any of the characters.
Given that, and the slow burn of writer Rita Kalnejais‘s screenplay, I found myself constantly looking at my watch for the last half-hour of the movie.
We’ve all had the “rat-tails” haircuts during lockdown. (Source: Entertainment One).
Not without its merits
Babyteeth has picked up a number of nominations, and as many wins, on the international film-festival circuit, mostly for the direction of Shannon Murphy. This is a first-time feature for TV-director Murphy (she directed two episodes from this year’s series of “Killing Eve” for example).
Awards have also gone to Toby Wallace for his portrayal of the slightly unhinged and unpredictable Moses. But for me, it was Eliza Scanlen‘s performance as Milla that appealed to me most and kept my attention. Other-worldly and slightly ethereal, she pulls off the role well. Scanlen was of course Beth March in the recent superb version of “Little Woman“. (She’s a young lady with great potential, but she needs to be careful not to get typecast as sickly waifs!)
A happy-ending on the beach? (Source: Entertainment One).
Babyteeth is a curate’s egg in the photography department
Cinematography was by Andrew Commis, and I found it both breathtaking and frustrating in almost equal measure. There’s a scene towards the end of the movie with Milla’s face half-lit in the moonlight that was reminiscent to me of the star-child in “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Simply gorgeous. And scenes in a nightclub are both strangely and effectively shot.
But – and art-house movies seem to mandate this approach – the movie is shot on handheld cameras. This makes a lot of the shots drift in and out of focus. Moreover – and most frustratingly for me – it makes the multitude of scene titles, employed in the telling, float ever-so-slightly against the backgrounds, with a generally nauseating effect.
I couldn’t find the “2001-like” shot. But the nightclub photography is something special too. (Source: Entertainment One).
A promising director, no doubt, but this one wasn’t for me.
I’ll no doubt feel a right Charlie if Babyteeth gets into the Oscars nominations short-list. But for me, it just wasn’t engaging enough to be entertaining. It’s billed as a “Comedy Drama”. While there were a few good comic lines, it rarely made me do more than smile. And as for the drama, I’m afraid tears were far from being spilled.
It’s in no way a “bad film”: it just personally wasn’t for me.
Trailer:
The trailer is here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6E8gPmz7n4.
Sometimes you have to be in the right mood. Your loss. I hear Pitchfork Music is hiring music critics… probably a good gig for you over there. They like to sprinkle piss on lots of well-done creative endeavors as well! “Personally wasn’t for me”… read your audience, and write to them, we don’t care about your 1st person narratives.
Nice! Polite! What is criticism if not a personal comment about your emotive reaction to a work? I was happy to claim that my views were in the minority here.Your comments are just rude.