UK Premiere

Short Synopsis:

Conflicting fates collide in this dark thriller from Canberra, Australia, when Laura Cox’s Angela plots an evening to remember where the invited guests of her soiree are not guaranteed to leave the table alive.  Tensions mount as the true nature of the gathering becomes frighteningly clear to those at the table, and what should have been a pleasant evening all round becomes a struggle to both understand and ultimately survive the ordeal.

Review:

The Dinner Party, a controversial new film set and shot in Canberra, Australia, tells the story of a relationship gone wrong and the consequences of misplaced affection.  Written and directed by Scott Murden, the film originally received funding from the Australian Film Commission’s (AFC) indivision funding stream, but this backing was withdrawn due to the controversial subject matter.  Starring Lara Cox, best known to audiences in the UK for her role in the popular TV show Heartbreak High, the film begins with her character, Angela, planning a dinner party that will ultimately end in the joint suicides of both herself and her lover Joel (Ben Seton).  However, as events unfold it becomes clear that this is purely the intent of her alone, and her fellow dinner companions are non the wiser to her plans.  Prior to the gathering we see Angela, accompanied by her concerned friend Maddy, buy two doses of heroin from a dealer, while also enquiring as to the potential lethal nature of injecting both.  Concerns are raised at the party when one of the guests, Sky, an ex-girlfriend of Joel, discovers two syringes in the bathroom, and events escalate from there.

Shot on a budget of $200,000, the film manages to create an absorbing yet menacing atmosphere thanks in part to the elegant and sombre score (Oonagh Sherrad) and the restrained yet subtly effective cinematography (Brett Murphy). Overall, a fine example of composed filmmaking under restricted resources.

 
PJD