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Willfull (Wilful)

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

Sometimes death can be the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Catherine (Anna Lise Phillips) returns to Australia after years abroad only to be confronted by her wilful mother, Katya (Anne Looby)... a ghost with attitude and a wardrobe to match.

Persons of interest

Anna Lise Phillips .... Catherine
Anne Looby .... Katya
C Thomas Howell .... Nat
Jennifer Claire .... Ginny
Charles "Bud" Tingwell .... Martin
John Gaden .... Bill Matthews
Harry Cripps .... Screenwriter
Rebel Penfold-Russell .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Awards and film festivals:

Dublin Film Festival 2001: Closing night film, World première
Seattle Film Festival 2001: Invitation

Studios and distributors:

Latent Image Productions

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

A good little Aussie movie about a woman, her boyfriend and her dead mother. Willfull is funny in parts, touching in others and generally bleak throughout. Like Till human voices wake us, redemption and understanding is found by the protagonist making their peace with the tormented dead, an option that is not open to most people and a warning not to leave arguments to fester with the people you love.

Never go to bed angry.

Willfull also uses the perennial favourite of wild mothers upsetting their staid daughters, a plot theme that is given a really good twist as it unfolds: embarrassment gives way to guilt to hatred to alienation. Add to that some seething resentment and a little bit of jealousy and you've got the makings of a story worth watching.

Even though the part was written with her in mind, Anne Looby plays Katya perfectly. She is mercurially, passionately exuberant, grand in the way only a few, rare women can be (think Mame with a dinky-di Aussie accent). Katya is also tormented by her own ghosts (or is that meta-ghosts, as she's a ghost herself?) and Anne brings out this "real" side of her personality as thoroughly as she does the vampy campy bits.

It's a good little Aussie movie with leanings toward the romantic comedy chick flick.