PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVES

"Looking for Alibrandi"
A WELL TOLD STORY

A well told story is a joyous thing.

"Looking for Alibrandi" is indeed a well-told story. It is fairly well structured and more importantly it succeeds in its intention of being purposeful, charming, engaging and entertaining. Despite some grueling events it also succeeds in being constantly optimistic.

It is no surprise that the performances are equally successful.

Good performances are often the result of actors feeling secure in the scripts embrace and also feeling well supported by the director. It seems that both these circumstances existed in this production.

So what are the lessons from, this engaging piece of cinema?

Firstly it delivers a clear advocacy for the benefits of optimistic storytelling. A strong sense of hope imbues the majority of the characters. Even most of the villains of the story have some basic positive attribute. This doesn't mean the characters are saccharin for there is no sense they are artificially flavoured. It's just that the film always takes an optimistic view in any circumstance where there is any hope.

Secondly there is a sense of adventure in these young performances and although this means the risk of failure is sometimes lurking, on other occasions this spirit delivers success. On some occasions actors venture forth to try a deliberately bolder choice and on others they simply let a wonderfully spontaneous impulse emerge. These fruits of performance are not frequent but well placed, well chosen and of course delightfully rewarding for the audience.

All this bespeaks actor confidence and actor trust - confidence in themselves and trust in their director

The Charm of Optimism
Thirdly it is possible that a sense of optimism can produce positive and active choices by the actors when selecting 'intentions or purpose' for their character. This is perhaps why KERRY WALKER'S wily manipulative head mistress is somehow always likeable. It maybe also explains

• the generously warm GRETTA SCACHHI who plays the character that carries the blame for the family curse;
• the cheeky engaging larrikin played by KICK GURRY
• and the bubbling effervescent PIA MIRANDA.

PIA'S performance stands out because in this country in recent times there have been a number of young female leads who have taken a low status, pessimistic view for their character. It is difficult to relate to characters who are always defeated by their circumstances. However in Josie, PIA MIRANDA has created a character whom we want to see succeed.

Minor Inconsistencies
Examining minor blemishes in such a good performance is a little mean spirited but informative for again it is of value to see that success is not about perfection. It is also informative to see how simply the delicate balance of a good performance can be disturbed.

For me the performance balance was upset in only two scenes.

The first is in the classroom when Josie (PIA MIRANDA) endeavours to explain why she is reading a magazine and not doing her schoolwork. This is a cleverly written and entertaining scene and there is no doubt that actor and director clearly deliver story. But it can be argued here that Josie is too confident, too cocky and too glib. She seems to know she has won almost before she starts and this undermines the drama of the scene. She is also more confident here than in any other part of' the story and this indicates a slight inconsistency.

• So, what might be the reasons for this? If this scene had more potential than was realized, was it because,
• too much effort went into delivering the story
• or perhaps the colour of the performance dominated the active "need" i.e. there was too much "confidently" and not enough needing 'to survive'
• or was it because the wrong 'need' was chosen and PIA was playing 'to dominate' rather than 'to survive'
• or was it just that PIA played the active component too much and pushed the sub-text into the text.

From this distance it is not possible to ascertain whether it was these reasons or others, which caused this imbalance, but the outcome was a shift in the way the character was defined.

In the other situation, Josie confronts her father at a family party and there is a more clearly defined imbalance. On this occasion PIA has swung the balance of her performance significantly towards the emotional content of the scene. Here there was a bucket load of anger but little use of the actual purpose that was driving her character through the scene.

The end result is that there is a lot of emotion but not much complexity in the performance.

The Pressures of Time and Budget?
This scene also embodied a minor directorial dilemma. Pia has to be in the up-stage position in the group to he clearly seen by the camera. However there is no reason within the dynamic of the scene for her to travel that far. These sorts of choices are often arrived at out of expediency for if an actor can get to the right position the scene will play in one shot - saving time and money. These choices are always difficult. Schedules and budgets force choices to be made. And for young actors to contest that they don't have any reason to walk so far is also sometimes asking too much.

All these examples are very minor issues within the context of such a successful film. Ultimately its success is due to the overall integrity of story and performance. Both elements are engagingly and truthfully maintained.

Josie (PIA MIRANDA); Christina (GRETA SCACCHI); Nonna (ELENA COTTA); Father Michael (ANTHONY LAPAGLIA); John Barton (MATTHEW NEWTON); Jacob - (KICK GURRY)

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