Film: Doing Time For Patsy Cline
Year of production: 1997
UK Release date: 20th June 2011
Distributor: Crabtree
Certificate: 15
Running time: 95 mins
Director: Chris Kennedy
Starring: Richard Roxburgh, Miranda Otto, Matt Day, Tony Barry, Roy Billing
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Australia
Language: English
Review by: Mary Igoe
It’s probably safe to say that the more successful Australian films tend to build up a cult following, judging by the exploits of Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert. If the secret to a winning formula’s down to a certain ‘je-ne-sais-quoi’, then Doing Time For Patsy Cline has a lot of work to do, but an American deep-south warbler crossed with an Australian out-back comedy may just do the trick!
It all starts with the shy, country & western-loving hicky Ralph leaving his home on the family farm to find fame and fortune with his guitar in America’s Nashville. With a one way plane ticket in his pocket, Ralph’s parents drop him off at a crossroads in the middle of the outback so he can hitch his way to the airport.
When a flashy sports car stops to give him a lift, Ralph meets Boyd and Patsy; a fast-living couple on their way to Sydney that will change his life forever. Along the way, a police car gives chase, and when it finally catches up to them, Patsy manages to escape unseen while the two men are arrested for drug trafficking (Boyd’s latest enterprise), and taken to the local gaol pending further investigation.
While there, Boyd and Ralph strike up a friendship of sorts, and when Patsy comes to visit, she reveals she has cancer and is going to refuse any treatment. This, amongst other factors, pushes Ralph to make the selfless decision of solely taking the blame for the crime, despite his innocence, so that Boyd can go free to be with Patsy...
Along the way, flash-forwards show the three coincidently united in a recording studio in America. When Ralph plays a song he’s written to Patsy, she sings along, and a sure hit is created between them. The two go on to win over the crowds and success follows with Boyd as a manager, but chance sees an accident fatally met by one of the party…
Sometimes it’s the oddball stories that bring all the more charm to the screen – although ‘charm’ doesn’t really seem to tally with anything Aussie. ‘Charisma’ might be more fitting, and Doing Time For Patsy Cline certainly brings a lot of Australian personality to the screen.
The story has its unexpected turns and consequential circumstances that manage to keep boredom at bay, at least from the point of Ralph and Boyd’s arrest. Pairing the ever-so-cheesy country & western theme with the frank and dark humour that Australian culture revels in is rather out of tune (pun pardoned!), but if the irony in the contrast works for you, the rest of the film should only bring laughs.
When it comes to screenplay, a little more discretion could have been used in the timing of the flash-forwards, as sometimes things get a little confusing rather than create intrigue. The script, however, is one of the redeeming qualities of the film, and if only there was even more humour, it could’ve been a corker, as, occasionally, the comedy is quite subtle and easily overlooked.
It must be near impossible to have a good script with bad characterisation, and so it follows that the colourful characters provide an easy source of entertainment. From Ralph’s parents to the neighbouring cell ‘crims’, each presents an hospitable palette to exhibit that dry sense of humour from down under.
It’s perhaps Richard Roxburgh as Boyd who steals the show when it comes to performances. The part seems to have been written for him, as he bounces off the walls of his cell with all the energy, intensity and creativeness of the optimistic opportunist that Boyd is. Matt Day is also perfectly cast as submissive Ralph in need of some balls, which he nobly obtains, and with fervent conveyance!
While Miranda Otto is a good actress, and she plays the part of forlorn maiden well, her softly whimpering voice as Patsy is a bit annoying…and continual…all the way through the film…to the very…very end, but the surprising juxtaposition in her singing voice brings a little relief.
Of course, a film set in the back lands of Australia encourages the use of good photography, which it achieves; and even shot compositions throughout the gaol scenes are appreciatively thoughtful. Finally, as far as country & western music goes, not much fault can be found in the score that bares the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris.
Doing Time For Patsy Cline could have been better if the script were richer, and if it had started from about 30 minutes in, as the beginning is quite slow and a bit bewildering as far as establishing what kind of story’s being told. Australian humour with its darkness, dryness, and self deprecation can be one of the funniest and here it doesn’t disappoint, but it leaves the viewer wanting a bit more than they receive. MI
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