Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Del Kathryn Barton
Starring: Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone, Josh Lawson,
Heather Mitchell
Australian visual artist Del Kathryn Barton makes her feature
film debut with Blaze, a dark, magic realist coming-of-age tale in which the young
protagonist is forced to come of age in a manner no child should have to
endure.
The titular 12-year-old protagonist (Julia Savage) is something
of an introvert, preferring the company of the imaginary giant
glitter-covered dragon that hangs out in her bedroom to that of other
humans. When she's out and about she retreats into the solace of giant
headphones, covering her ears, if not her eyes, from the outside
world.
Those exposed eyes lead Blaze to witness an altercation between two
adults – Jake (Josh Lawson) and Hannah (Yael Stone) – in
an alleyway close to her home. The snippets of conversation we hear
suggest that the pair once enjoyed an intimate encounter, but Hannah
makes it clear she wants to take the relationship no further. Jake
refuses to take no for an answer and brutally sexually assaults Hannah,
who hits her head on a rock in the process. Jake flees the scene,
leaving Hannah to succumb to her wounds.
Blaze also flees, back to the safety of her bedroom where she retreats
under the covers of her bed. Realising something is up with his
daughter, Blaze's single father Luke (Simon Baker) gets her to
open up and takes her to the police station. There she is subjected to
gruelling physical examinations, along with being forced to relive the
experience. After her testimony at a pre-trial is twisted by a canny
defence lawyer, Luke refuses to allow his daughter to appear again in
court.
This leads Blaze to experience guilt. As she looks up the victim and
the killer online, befriending a teenage son of the former and stalking
the latter, she increasingly retreats into her fantasy world. This is
where the director's background in fine arts comes into play as Blaze's
bedroom transforms into a sort of Narnia, populated by the various
figurines she keeps in her room, now brought to life through visual
effects as impressive as any bigger budgeted Hollywood movie. If these
scenes jar with the grittiness of the central drama, well, I guess
that's the point, but you may find them a distraction. Too often they
play like music videos slotted into the movie.
I'm not sure what audience Barton has in mind with Blaze. The graphic assault that opens the movie precludes it from being
suitable for children, but the rest of the movie plays like that's
exactly the audience the film is aiming for. The dialogue is
particularly on-the nose, which would be excusable in a children's movie
where we expect things to be simplified, but it's too heavy-handed for
an adult-oriented drama. Barton's point about men getting away with
horrific crimes is stretched beyond reason, with Jake carrying on with
his normal life amid the trial, rather than being hidden away, which is
how such things go in reality. Somehow he's managed to keep all this a
secret from his wife, who is shocked when he's confronted by Blaze on
the street. How can you not know your husband is on trial for a
rape/murder?
The film's various messy strands are just about held together by the
central performances of Savage and Baker. The most effective moments are
those that drop the magic realist pretence and simply focus on the
relationship between a traumatised young girl and the father who wants
to help his daughter but can't find any words that might console her.
There's an effective and occasionally charming drama in
Blaze, but it's buried beneath a layer of unnecessary glitter.
