A beautiful irony – hopefully intentional- is the DVD/Blu- ray release of EYE OF THE STORM just in time for Mother’s Day.
Adapted from the Patrick White novel by Judy Morris, directed by Fred Schepisi and peopled with a sublime cast, EYE OF THE STORM (MA) is a magical, tragical tale set in 1972 Sydney.
Siblings Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis) are summoned from their European bases to attend malingering Mother, magnificently matriarchal in a majestic performance by Charlotte Rampling.
Basil has made a mark on the British stage and been knighted in spite of his blighted Lear, whilst Dorothy has made a marred marriage to an Italian prince, now dissolved, with title and small allowance the only legacy of the folly.
Both siblings are battered and bruised by the slings and arrows and are keen to get their hands on the outrageous fortune that lays a last breath away in the declining, decaying, yet still dominating dame who is their mother.
Using the reluctant services of the family lawyer Arnold Wyburd, a beautifully understated turn by John Gaden, they scheme to place their moaning mama in a society nursing home to expedite her demise.
Panic sets in to the household staff as they sense the impending end of their secure if eccentric world.
Most eccentric of the staff is Lotte, a refugee from Nazi Germany who is Mother’s cook and private cabaret act. Helen Morse is quite simply sensational in the role.
Basil’s stage connections allow for a cavalcade of luvvies inhabited by Jane Menelaus, Billie Brown and Heather Mitchell, and there is a wonderful star turn by Colin Friels as prole pollie with PM aspirations and on the prowl for a leg over with Dorothy.
Beautifully directed, designed and shot, EYE OF THE STORM also boasts a gorgeous score by composer Paul Grabowsky.
The DVD/Blu-ray edition contains a Q&A with the cast.
(c) Richard Cotter
24th April, 2012