Suburban Mayhem
| Year: | 2006 |
| Director: | Paul Goldman |
| Producer: | Leah Churchill-Brown |
| Writer: | Alice Bell |
| Cast: | Emily Barclay, Steve Bastoni |
After the (unfair) commercial bath he took on The Night We Called it a Day, director Paul Goldman has again left the world of TV commercials to bring us an authentically Australian femme fatale in Katrina (Barclay).
Slightly babyish to be playing a real vamp but dangerously sexy nonetheless, Katrina will stop at nothing to get what she wants, by any means necessary. She's a tornado into which everyone around her is sucked in and either thrilled by the experience or left in ruins. One wonders if Goldman named her after the Hurricane that did similar damage to New Orleans.
Single mother dole cheats never look this good as Katrina swans her way from getting her nails done to giving one of her many boyfriends a blowjob in a front seat to occasionally looking after her infant daughter.
But everybody's trying to tell Katrina how to live her life, and she's putting plans into place that will settle everything and set her up for good. Her Dad, the suburban cop determined to bring her to justice, her lovable and doltish boyfriend and the naíve doe eyed beautician all come under her spell and they're all pawns being manipulated and positioned for Katrina to pull her coup de grace.
She's compelling and repulsive. Her incredible sex appeal draws you in, but you're repulsed by what she's planning. We all know someone like her in real life, so you're never quite sure if you're disgusted by the character or enthralled by her. That's Goldman's triumph in this film, and everything else around it is portrayed with a neat style in a well-made film.
Slightly babyish to be playing a real vamp but dangerously sexy nonetheless, Katrina will stop at nothing to get what she wants, by any means necessary. She's a tornado into which everyone around her is sucked in and either thrilled by the experience or left in ruins. One wonders if Goldman named her after the Hurricane that did similar damage to New Orleans.
Single mother dole cheats never look this good as Katrina swans her way from getting her nails done to giving one of her many boyfriends a blowjob in a front seat to occasionally looking after her infant daughter.
But everybody's trying to tell Katrina how to live her life, and she's putting plans into place that will settle everything and set her up for good. Her Dad, the suburban cop determined to bring her to justice, her lovable and doltish boyfriend and the naíve doe eyed beautician all come under her spell and they're all pawns being manipulated and positioned for Katrina to pull her coup de grace.
She's compelling and repulsive. Her incredible sex appeal draws you in, but you're repulsed by what she's planning. We all know someone like her in real life, so you're never quite sure if you're disgusted by the character or enthralled by her. That's Goldman's triumph in this film, and everything else around it is portrayed with a neat style in a well-made film.