MONKEY GRIP

MONKEY GRIP is Australian director Ken Cameron's first feature film, a remarkable debut fulfilling the promise shown in his three previous, award-winning short films. Directing with a style and verve that belies a first effort, Cameron also co-wrote the screenplay with Helen Garner from her best-selling and award-winning novel. Set in Melbourne's inner suburbia, a trendy, arty milieu of available sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, MONKEY GRIP relates the story of Nora (Noni Hazlehurst), a divorcee who writes for a feminist newspaper. Nora lives with her 10-year-old daughter Gracie (Alice Garner) and lover Martin in a sort of colony of freewheeling, underground types. Nora casually drops Martin, falling into bed and in love with his friend Javo (Colin Friels), an out-of-work actor and heroin addict. Nora is almost obsessed with their relationship but Javo, who barely acknowledges Nora in public, has a “See ya when I see ya” attitude and is unfaithful to boot. Their on-again, off-again affair is steamy, set against a backdrop of contemporary rock (The Divinyls) and its attendant lifestyle. Hazelhurst won Australia's Best Actress Award for her electric performance; Friels is a raw Alan Bates-type and powerful. “The best feature film about a contemporary woman yet made in this country. . .a triumph for all concerned. . .gritty yet warm and humorous. . .Hazlehurst is magnificent, radiant, utterly convincing.” – Variety