Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
“She’ll be right”, “no worries”, and “it is what it is,” are not uncommon sayings in Australia. We are of course, the lucky country, a nation who can back itself proudly on a culture built on a lack of… care. I mean, come on, who cares that it’s a Thursday night and we have work early tomorrow, who cares that we’re going to wake up tired and angry – it’s schnitzel night at the pub, and everyone else is going to be there, why shouldn’t we?
Nick (Jai Courtney) and the rest of his small South Australian town indulge in this fantasy. It’s a problem then that Nick’s fiancée, Kori (Emily Browning), is one of the few who can’t settle for less, whose care factor is the complete opposite of zero, trapped in a dull, almost loveless relationship due to the culture around her. At the film's very beginning she only accepts Nick’s proposal due to the pressure from the eyes around her. There’s only one guy in town who gets Kori, her boss Dereck (Damon Herriman), and it’s when they’re found to be sleeping together that Nick can get a taste of worry for the very first time. She’ll be right though, as Nick has some help with his problems from a Fox (Olivia Colman). Yes animals can talk in this film — well some, dogs seemingly can’t — and the titular fox explains, all animals have their own interests, and humans are the strangest of them all.
Strange is a good word to describe The Fox. It leans into the bizarre with talking animals, horny animals and naked humans. Bizarre does not always equal funny, but in the case of The Fox it sure does; not surprising considering writer/director/editor/composer of the film, Dario Russo is the same brain behind the equally bizarre Italian Spiderman from Youtube's early days, and the SBS series Danger 5. The Fox, Russo’s first feature film, lives up to his previous work, but does a great job at going beyond them too. He’s clearly matured as a creator, and the film is as funny as it is clever – its satire on Australian culture and masculinity is what particularly makes it work. It’s hard to speak on in detail though, I want to preserve the film's small twists and turns. What I will say though, and it may seem like a strange comparison on paper, but The Fox does have a lot in common with this year's surprise horror hit, Obsession, in its commentary.
The male lead, in this case Courtney, is fine as a small town hunk — his Jack Reacher muscle has never left him — but it’s the female co-star, Emily Browning, who’s the real highlight. She is so fantastic in this film, selling me on both its silliness and twistedness. She has to fully transform herself for this role, and if I was on the AACTA voting body she’d be walking out of that award ceremony with a statue for sure. Where else recently have you seen an actor had to run around fully naked covered in dirt from a large hole in the nearby forest and then transition to eating dry two minute noodles while crouching on a bench? I told you, bizarre movie.
It would also not be right to speak on the film without mentioning the standout talking animals. Colman’s Fox is the film's catalyst and the late Sam Neill portrays a heckling magpie that’s hard not to laugh at. These talking animals are portrayed very obviously by puppets, which along with the lack of justification the film gives for animal speaking (which I loved) makes The Fox feel all the more strange.
Russo’s film meets all the requirements of a fable, short and sharp? Check. Talking animals? Check. A lesson to be learnt? Check. It’s a wonderfully funny tale, one that I’ll keep coming back to for its critique, and one that will make me scrutinise the local pubgoing couples a bit harsher in my stares.
The Fox too makes me excited for Australian cinema, that we get to see an original Aussie comedy on the big screen with a proper theatrical run should not be scoffed at — you deserved better One More Shot — and I hope Dario Russo gets the chance to do it over and over again, because I’ll be the first in line to buy a ticket to whatever he can follow up The Fox with.
The Fox opens in cinemas on Thursday, November 26th. For tickets and more information, click here.
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