Randwick Ritz cinema is gaining a reputation as a launch for self funded independent films.
A weekend and a half ago it was Me and My Left Brain and last week it was BILCHED.
After showings in halls in Dubbo and the Shoalhaven the film came to Sydney with a full blown premiere.
I normally don’t comment on the Red Carpet environment. However this Red Carpet was anarchic, chaotic, joyful and ebullient all at the same time. To catch a celebrity you had to explore the first floor balcony, upstairs bar, downstairs bar, the street, and a packed foyer. Groups of burly youths spun me around in a good natured way to take their photos. I had no idea if they were in the film or not as this was mainly a cast of newcomers with a sprinkling of Home and Away experience.
Amidst this sea of lively young people was the fact that this premiere was a family affair. Writer and star Hal Cumpston is accompanied by Dad Jeremy who is the film’s director as well having a small cameo role, as well as brothers Joseph and River who played parts in the film.
It seems that the audience comprised of friends of the cast and crew which meant that the largest of the cinemas at the Ritz was packed out both in the stalls and the dress circle.
Disarray continued when experienced actor Rhys Muldoon called on the cast to come down to the front row and several actors did not appear to do so but what was touching was Jeremy Cumpston’s declaration of love for his son Hal, saying that Hal was his hero. After this the audience was rowdy, hooting and hollering and as my wife and I were amongst a few of the oldest people in the cinema we did not what we were in for.
BILCHED means a ‘crazy, spontaneous, life altering adventure that defies logic’ and that is precisely the film we got. Hal Cumpston was inspired to write this film about the experiences that he stumbled into and out of during his last year at high school.
The film was shot mainly in the eastern suburbs and particularly along the coastlines of Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama, Clovelly, Coogee and Maroubra. As an eastern suburbs resident I took particular pleasure in recognising the locations, one of which is just up the road from my house, the Bondi Reservoir atop Waverley Oval.
There is humour in the slightly name altering Stotts College and Steggs. Hal attends Bronte High which I believe was in reality Waverley College.
The film touches briefly on religious tension and rivalry between Bronte which is mainly Catholic and Stotts which is primarily Protestant.
The story opens with Hal without preparation auditioning for a place in the National Academy of Dramatic Arts (NADA). He of-course fails and the film turns to high school and out of class adventures accompanied by his slacker friends as they encounter gormless teachers and subjects they cannot relate to.
There are some very funny scenes in the chemistry and art departments. Hal has a stillness and enigmatic quality that makes him the alpha male of the group. He knows where to get drugs and he knows how to solve problems. At the start of the film he is dating the school princess and is a loyal big brother to his siblings. As he skateboards through teenage foolishness, surfing, and alcohol fuelled parties he must ‘come of age’, and recognises the challenges that he must face to achieve his acting aspirations, and discovers true love with the girl who is his soulmate.
The script is full of quirky, engaging moments and there was an incredible energy between the vitality and humour burning off the screen connecting with an emotionally invested audience who hooped and clapped every time every time one of their friends appeared on screen.
My wife who is a high school teacher and often has final year mathematics students turned to me and said ‘I love this film’. I wholeheartedly agreed. There was an authenticity, a larrakin sense of humour and an engaging, empathetic quality to the film.
You willingly jump on Hal’s skateboard, not knowing where it’s going to spin next, willing him to succeed despite the fact that his journey might roll dangerously off course. It is funny, sometimes raw, and filled with humanity.
Hal Cumpston is charismatic in his role as Hal accompanied by Holly White as Ella the princess and Mitzi Ruhlmann as Lucy, his soulmate. His brothers River and Joseph inject family warmth and Frederik Du Rietz as Matt, Ewan Wall as Alfie and Otis Pavlovic as Joe comprise some of the characters who accompany Hal on his merry adventures. Adding to the authenticity is the multi ethnicity of some of the cast. There are also well known actors Rhys Muldoon, Jeremy Sims and Claudia Karvan who add their experience to the film.
Director Jeremy Cumpston has to keep on course these hormone fuelled teenagers and he does so with aplomb. The use of drones and tiny action cameras gives the film an exciting visual appeal.
The music, a mixture of punk, garage and disco, perfectly accompanies the scenes on the screen.
This film has an extremely limited release with the last screening on Tuesday May 28 at Randwick Ritz. This is a great shame as I fervently hope that a distributor will pick this film up and give it a general release.
Featured image- Cast and crew of ‘Bilched’. All pics by Ben Apfelbaum
