The latest quirk-laden Australian film from writer/director David Caesar (Idiot Box, Mullet, Dirty Deeds) ain’t exactly a straight-up romance between a man and a woman. It’s true that Dubbo-based protagonist Thomas (Michael Dorman) does find, marry and have a bub with his crush-cum-lover Melissa (Emily Barclay), but Prime Mover is really about a ménage a trios between him, his new wife and the object of his real desire, that is, his diesel-powered desire: trucks. Big, bad ass, monster towin’ trucks. In the first moment our new lovers connect lips Thomas leaves the room and returns with a large spanner; Melissa happily complies and wields it while they embrace. This is where the audience goes “eerrrr…” and what follows is a story about Thomas juggling his two lovers and their demands: Melissa wants him to stay at home with her and the little ‘un; the truck wants him to drive it, floor it, fix it, fondle it, steer it, um, sweet talk it…
A formulaic in-over-your-head plot about our truck-loving lead struggling to meet repayments for a loan shark gives the narrative arc some friction and, eventually, some closure, though the story resolution, which involves comeuppance for a shady crim played by Ben Mendelsohn, feels forced and barely plausible.
Caesar peppers Prime Mover with splodges of pretty visual flourishes, with spectacular hippy-looking bursts of light and colour majestically erupting periodically for no particular reason – very hear the colours, see the music sort of stuff. These visual flourishes are nice but redundant; it seems as if their presence in the film was only half thought out.
Prime Mover bobs along at an off-kilter and unusual pace, neither fast nor slow, just dancing along to its own unhurried rhythm. The performance from Michael Dorman gives the film a good heart and a solid human anchor, helping to disguise its numerous underplayed concepts, with Caesar’s direction admirably restrained in many respects and seemingly half-hearted in others. Prime Mover isn’t a film for everybody but it does have the kind of subtle symbolic playfulness that will compel film crit classes towards endless avenues of interpretation. Is it, for example, ultimately about one man’s conflicted desire to make love to his truck and the sexual confusion that comes with this white-lined, tire-massaged, asphalt-incrusted terrain? There is a crash scene near the end – could this be Caesar’s money shot, the final explosive ejaculation of pent-up desire?
Prime Mover played at the 2009 Melbourne International Film festival and will be released theatrically in October.
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2 Comments
haha! I knew you’d use that ejaculation line! Nice review, definetly a confused film with a collection of interesting ideas that never really come together in any kind of cohesive fashion….Also “no seat-belts what’s the deal there?” Haha…I so can’t believe that old lady saying that to the director! Nuts!
MIFF is rolling along well. My takes of Home, North and Milk of Sorrows now at Cinema Takes, with plenty to come. Strong showing from foreign language films so far.