119. Mouthpiece; movie review

 

 

MOUTHPIECE

Cert 15

92 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  very strong language, strong sex, sex references, brief drug misuse

Most of the time, arty movies bounce off me but Mouthpiece didn't for one reason - at its heart is family.

So, despite the unique technique of having two actresses playing the same character at the same time, I still felt connected to Patricia Rozema's film.

Rozema has adapted the stage play which was written and performed by Norah Sadava and Amy Nostbakken who return with gusto in the movie.

They both play Cass, a single independent woman who is thrown into turmoil by the sudden death of her mother (Maev Beaty).

Her grief creates an inner turmoil over memories of her mum - her kindness or what she perceives as the negativity.

They come even more sharply under the microscope because she needs to decide her words for her mum's eulogy.

In a very effective but original way, both women's lives are explored through anger, sex and cringeworthy decision-making.

The result is a credible portrait of the intense relationship between mother and daughter through the latter's eyes.

This is a very personal project for Sadava and Nostbakken and it comes as little surprise that chunks of it are based on their own experiences.

But it does take a while to understand that they are playing the same person even though they mirror each others' mannerisms to perfection.

Intriguingly, most of the times the to halves agree but there is conflict between them when Cass is in two minds.

It is fascinating to see how compromise is reached in a movie which will live longer in my memory than I had expected.

Reasons to watch: Original and poignant

Reasons to avoid: Is very off-the-wall

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: Yes

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? In 2017, Jodie Foster brought Quote Unquote Collective from Canada to Los Angeles to perform a two-show run of Mouthpiece. Foster first saw the play in Toronto.

The final word. Patricia Rozema: "I have a huge appetite for novelty, for newness, I can’t have done it before or seen it before. I’m very open as to length, format, decimation, it’s all just story. I tell my agent: big budget little budget, I don't care, just give me a story that needs telling, that is new, and let me play." Script

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