Mallboy

Mallboy is one of the most important Australian films of the last 10 years. Unlike the frequently sickly sweet suburban world of Australian soapies "Neighbours" and "Home and Away," Mallboy examines underpriveleged working class families whose lives have been shattered by crime, drug and alcohol abuse, and the inhumanities of prison life. The performances of all the major characters are very strong -- in particular the mother Jenny (brilliantly played by Nell Feeney of Phoenix) simultaneously evokes sympathy and disgust. Having had children too young, Jenny is childlike herself and clearly incapable of holding the family together -- her son (played by Kane McNay from Seachange) desperately wants attention from his father, her daughter is pregnant and she is dodging the welfare system. Jenny's life is further complicated by drugs and to add insult to injury, her husband, newly released from prison, has a new girlfriend. But in spite of this trauma, the film's power lies in mapping the strong relationship between mother and son who stagger through their troubled life together secure in the knowledge of their love for each other.