Beautiful Kate
Beautiful Kate is the kind of movie that'll spark debates in the pub afterwards. Rachel Ward's assured directorial debut is a tale of a family hiding a troubling taboo, but it resists lurid revelations or moral finger-wagging. Instead, the central tragedy emerges gradually and evocatively through the tortured recollections of 40-year-old author Ned Kendall (a weary-looking Ben Mendelsohn).
Ned's spent his life cultivating a smart-arse persona to escape his guilt over the violent, premature deaths of his brother Cliff (Josh McFarlane) and his twin sister Kate (Sophie Lowe). But he's forced to confront the past when he returns to the family farm with pouty young fiancée Toni (Maeve Dermody) to visit his sister Sally (Rachel Griffiths) and dying dad Bruce (Bryan Brown).
Ward never settles for clichés of "fucked-up-ness" - Ned isn't a drunken failure; Sally isn't a downtrodden martyr; half-dead Bruce is by turns malevolent and vulnerable. Courtesy of cinematographer Andrew Commis, Ned's memories are similarly ambiguous, full of sensuous mystery. Like Ned, you might struggle to define the rightness or wrongness of what you're seeing - which is a triumph.
By Mel Campbell
Format: Cinema
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Nova, Film, Australian
Random Entries:
Titus Andronicus, ‘The Monitor'
29th Apr 10
Chucking on VHS tapes of The Civil War miniseries was a Year 12 History Lesson back in the day, watching countless photos of dead Yankee and Confederate...
The Transparency of Evil, Essays on Extreme Phenomena
9th Jun 10
Could the definition of our times be "too much of everything"? This phrase is not meant in the narrowest hippie sense i.e. over consumption...
The Eclipse
15th Apr 10
This Irish film is a subtle, beguiling mix of romance, literary satire and horror. Michael Farr (Ciaran Hinds) is a recently widowed father of two and...
Record Fair
3rd Jul 09
The buying and collecting of vinyl has all but taken a backseat to the digi-download. Whilst ‘right click save as' affords a certain amount of instant...
Here We Go Down The Black Hole
22nd Aug 09
Floating through the cosmos, Sydney's Jordy Lane, aka Shady Lane, is a modern day philosopher. On his debut album, Here We Go Down The Black Hole,...
Toast Cafe
17th Mar 10
Is there a more humble breakfast than toast? A slice of cooked bread, some thinly spread condiment...well, that's unless we're talking Toast, a café...
They Blind the Stars, And the Wild Team, Decoder Ring
17th Jul 09
Featuring rainbow light refracting crystals on the cover, Decoder Ring wear their hearts on their sleeves with They Bind The Stars, And The Wild Team...
This Is Why You're Fat: Where Dreams Become Heart Attacks
27th Jan 10
With the blindness-inducing years of my sexual awakening sitting pretty much parallel to the introduction of the internet to the mainstream market, I've...
The Men Who Stare At Goats
3rd Mar 10
This shaggy comedy is loosely based on an incredible true story: the US Army's secret elite squad of Jedi-like psychic warriors. It's pretty much an excuse...
Paranormal Activity
18th Nov 09
Back in 1999, The Blair Witch Project was unleashed on what now seems a touchingly innocent public. Ten cynical years later, Big Brother has ground...
Subscribe to our e-newsletter for weekly updates and exclusive stuff:
Browse our guide to Perth by interest
Perth Events Calendar
Select a date to see what's on in Perth
Browse our guide to Perth by keyword
Browse our guide to Perth by weekly issue
Recently Published
Mia Nolting's Mystery... Dream-ing 3 PICA Exhibitions Opening... Atmosphere FAC Fashion Talks - Romance... smRts CD launch Tart Boxsal Picnic Kits Scraps Weed WorldRandom Goodness
Wool and The Gang... Massive Vintage... Equus Mandurah Line Utopia or Oblivion... Lovely Daze Issue... Concerts, Adam Geczy... Sweet Java I Drink For a Reason... 'My Volcano', Richard...Perth Gig Guide
Bands in Perth DJs in Perth Launches in Perth Parties in Perth Sales in Perth Films in PerthQuick Links
EatDrink - Location - Fremantle
EatDrink - Location - Leederville
EatDrink - Location - Mt Lawley
EatDrink - Location - Northbridge
EatDrink - Location - Northern Suburbs
EatDrink - Location - South of the River
EatDrink - Venue Type - Market
EatDrink - Venue Type - Night Club
EatDrink - Venue Type - Restaurant
Goods - Location - Leederville
Goods - Location - Northbridge
Goods - Location - Northern Suburbs
Goods - Location - South of the River
Goods - Product Type - Accessories
Goods - Product Type - Clothes
Goods - Product Type - Fashion
Goods - Product Type - Gadgets
Look - Gallery Type - Artist-run
Look - Gallery Type - Commercial
Look - Gallery Type - Contemporary Art Space
Look - Gallery Type - Project Space
Look - Location - Northern Suburbs
Look - Location - South of the River
Out - Event Type - Performance
Out - Location - Northern Suburbs
Out - Location - South of the River
Read - Genre - Contemporary Culture
Shop - Location - Northern Suburbs
Shop - Location - South of the River
Shop - Product Type - Accessories
Shop - Product Type - Art/Design
Shop - Product Type - Books & Mags
Stray - Location - Out of Town
Watch - Format - Live/Performance
About
SixThousand is a subcultural guide to Perth, published daily and fired by email weekly. It is compiled by an amorphous gaggle of Perth writers, stylists, designers and photographers who all like huddling under that big umbrella we like to call creativity. Without editorial independence SixThousand has nothing. All editorial you read is featured because it's worth it - not because it's paid for.
Working