Friday, March 29, 2024

MOVIE REVIEW (SXSW): ‘The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson’ Offers a Feminist Twist on a Classic Western Tale


Director: Leah Purcell
Writers: Leah Purcell
Stars: Leah Purcell, Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw, Malachi Dower-Roberts

Synopsis: A lonely bushwoman struggles to raise her children and run the family farm while her husband is away.

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Leah Purcell pulls the best type of power move by writing, directing, and starring in this feminist-based western story, set in the Australian outback in the late 1800s. Purcell flips the script for this film, telling it from the perspective of the main character, Molly Johnson, and reclaiming it to make it her story, when the original story, its source material is from the 1892 Henry Lawson short story “The Drover’s Wife”. Purcell confidently takes on issues of gender, race, and abuse in what starts out promising, it unfortunately just falls to being quite depressing watch.

Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) proves to be an independent badass from the first scene of the film. There is no time wasted to make that happen; a huge bull approaches her tiny shack of a home, and she kills it before it can get her to many children. It is apparent that she is very pregnant, but there is no man or husband to be seen yet. The stage is set very early on that she is a woman who is solely focused on protecting her family and her home, especially while her husband is gone for long stretches of time. A couple stumbles upon Molly and her home, she is skeptical but invites them in, learning their identities as Sergeant Nate Clintoff (Sam Reid) and his wife, Louisa (Jessica De Gouw), a London-born strong-willed feminist. When Sgt. Nate makes it to town and working in law enforcement, he is saddled with solving a multiple murder cases. Molly unknowingly becomes connected to the murderer, when she finds him at her home, she intends to take on her protective mode but ends up going into labor. The fugitive, Yadaka (Rob Collins) assists her with the childbirth, and inevitably the two form a bond and complexities ensue from here until the end of the film, increasing with intensity.

The score was incredible, but honestly, sometimes it just did not fit properly. There were super twangy moments, fitting the western genre appropriately, but there were heavy rock tones in other moments and sometimes it just felt misplaced and unsure. Like many westerns often do, the landscape provides a visually stimulating look and overall enjoyment of the cinematography. These two production elements are the best part of the film, aside from Purcell’s strong performance, fully capturing the spirit of Molly Johnson and making it her own. There are moments throughout that should have been more suspenseful than they actually played out to be, this really fell short when it could have and should have benefited from it overall.

Overall this was an intriguing watch, one of those films that leaves you feeling a mixture of, wow a lot happened, but did a lot actually happen? It seems action packed but in reality, it was pretty straightforward in serving the story. Nothing actually good happens in this narrative, other than women standing up for one another. Otherwise, this is a sad and desolate story that will leave you with no desire to ever revisit it.

Grade: C

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