The Monkey's Mask (2000)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Samantha Lang

Writers:

Anne Kennedy (writer)
Dorothy Porter (novel)

Release Date:

10 May 2001 (Australia)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

No evidence just a smell of sex and violence.

Plot:

A lesbian private detective dives head first into murder, manipulation and the consuming power of sex.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Sex | Lesbian | Private Investigator | Poetry

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Susie Porter	...	Jill Fitzpatrick
Kelly McGillis	...	Professor Diana Maitland
Marton Csokas	...	Nick Maitland
Abbie Cornish	...	Mickey Norris
William Zappa	...	Detective Sergeant Wesley
Brendan Cowell	...	Hayden
Jim Holt	...	Bill McDonald
Bojana Novakovic	...	Tianna
Jean-Pierre Mignon	...	Tony Brach
Caroline Gillmer	...	Barbara Brach
John Noble	...	Mr. Norris
Linden Wilkinson	...	Mrs. Norris
Chris Haywood	...	Dad Fitzpatrick
Deborah Mailman	...	Lou
Charlotte Rose Regan	...	Cerebral Girl

Also Known As:

Cercle intime (France)
La maschera di scimmia (Italy)
Poetry, Sex (Japan: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, and for language.

Runtime:

93 min | Spain:94 min

Country:

Australia | Canada | France | Italy | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Arenafilm

Trivia:

Gigi Edgley was unable to complete her scenes for this film because she was needed back on "Farscape" (1999) to film the episode "Dream a Little Dream/Re:Union".

Quotes:

Jill Fitzpatrick: There's no drink to take away the taste of a fresh face rotting.

Soundtrack:

Jezebel

Intriguing examination of one woman's journey

This film pushes the boundaries - it's a well-told scrutiny of one woman's journey of self-discovery as she searches for a teenage girl's killer. Its shock value - and there certainly is some there - will depend on what you are willing to accept: depending on your definitions and inhibitions, THE MONKEY'S MASK may well be bordering on soft porn. Whether you appreciate the film's story will depend greatly upon your own degree of open-mindedness. Susie Porter is brilliant, arguably the best female actor in Australia at the moment (though she's getting strong competition from Kerry Armstrong, Belinda McClory and Toni Collette) - her roles are consistently challenging and all quite diverse: she plays an inbred sex-crazed nymph in WELCOME TO WOOP WOOP, a lonely housewife in FEELING SEXY, an insane girl with a hairdresser complex in AMY and was brilliant in BETTER THAN SEX. And now this, in which she's involved in a particularly explicit lesbian sex scene with Kelly McGillis. THE MONKEY'S MASK is one of those films that would fit well into a "Contemporary Australian Film" course - its multilayered dimensions and blurring of the lines between poetry and sex would make for a brilliant essay topic. I urge you - leave your inhibitions at the door and see this film. Rating: 7/10. See also: LANTANA, BETTER THAN SEX.