Men's Group

Synopsis: Six men meet each week in a suburban home to discuss issues that are troubling them. The guys are invited to simply come each week and have a cuppa and a chat. As they gradually reveal themselves, layer by layer, the emotions begin to surface.

And so we have Alex (Grant Dodwell), a big burly bloke, who gambles and peppers his speech with endless profanity. He has huge issues connecting with his teenage son. There's Cecil (Don Reid), a seventy-something widower, old fashioned with a bow tie, lonely and hiding a few secrets as to why his relationship with his wife and son went down the drain. Lucas (Steve Le Marquand) is almost impenetrable, withdrawn and lacking empathy, but the implications are that he has no honesty whatsoever about his inner self. Moses (Paul Tassone) is an aggressive beanie-wearing tattooed guy who lives in a shed with his dog, and who seems to have lost his family. Freddy (Steve Rodgers) is grossly obese, is a stand-up comic and loving father, but his hateful ex-wife prevents him seeing much of his daughter. Paul (Paul Gleeson) runs the meetings at his home. There is a one-off visit also from Anthony (William Zappa), to whom life has been anything but kind.

Pain is at the forefront of all these men's lives - loss of family ties is prevalent and another common thread is their issues with their fathers. Learning to express their feeling about these things is the challenge. Nothing is trite in this excellently scripted film - everything is raw, honest and authentic and all the characters are intensely believable.

Although much of the action takes place within Paul's home, we also get glimpses of the men's lives outside - Alex gambling at the T.A.B., Cecil eating alone, Moses taking out his anger on his dog, Luke leading a life he won't acknowledge, and Freddie doing his routine, but at home attempting to work through his grief with a large pink stuffed rabbit. The pathos in the Freddie scenes approaches unbearable and Rodgers is brilliant.

Stylistically the film has its odd moments; extremes of hand-held camera, and an interesting foray towards the latter part where the visuals become almost slick compared to the earlier grainy approach but this brave and challenging film is long overdue for Australian film or indeed film in general. It is a story (or perhaps exploration is more the word) that takes men's issues and drags them kicking and screaming into the open. Many men would do well to go along to the film. We women already know how to emote in a group.

Want more about this film?

Want something different?