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A couple have relationship problems. When a much older man intervenes, a younger woman rediscovers her sensuality to the frustration of her husband. | score D |
moviereview rates films from A (unmissable) to E (unwatchable) |
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| Cast Jacqueline McKenzie, Aaron Blabey, Chris Haywood Director Paul Cox Screenwriter Paul Cox Country Australia Rating / Running Time MA / 102 minutes Australian Release April 2005 Official Site (c) moviereview
2005
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
There
is a school of cinema to which Australian ‘auteur’ Paul Cox
is a sole member. This prolific director has some twenty features under
his belt spanning four decades, most dealing with personal
relationships in a rarefied world. Innocence
(2000) was a recent example that looked under the bedcovers of sexually
active pensioners. On the plus side, Cox’s characters are far
removed from the atypical quirky Australians we’ve come to love
to hate. Unfortunately, this is also a measure of his downside. As he
exposes less familiar realities, his characters are so far removed from
any typical Australian mindset that his work quickly distances itself
from our own experience. In this regard, The Human Touch
is a splendid example. Two young artists Anna and David (Jaqueline
McKenzie and Aaron Blabey) are heading into murky waters that are
muddied further when Anna meets wealthy Edward (Chris Haywood). To
David’s concern, her sensuality is awoken in the presence of this
much older, married, man. The Human Touch
is an essay on instinct and reaction that is realised through misogyny,
bad art, pervy old men and carnal desire. Over-writing and
under-directing creates a prickly, arch atmosphere that renders the
film cold and bereft of much-needed emotion. McKenzie and Haywood
appear lost in front of the camera, and quickly loose our interest in
their goings on. How much of this very specific humbug touches a viewer
is, I suspect, highly dependent on their participation in these
character’s rarefied world. For most of us, The Human Touch is little more than a long, dull slog of interest only to misogynists, bad artists and pervy old men.
// COLIN FRASER |