Judy & Punch

It’s always fantastic when an Australian film is a success, and even more so when there’s a female filmmaker at the helm. However, for something as unique and fresh as ‘Judy and Punch’ to come from Australia makes me genuinely proud. A period story with a message that’s vital to current society, Mirrah Foulkes is an exciting young storyteller, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store next.

• Charlie David Page

Read Charlie's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-judy-and-punch-a-dark-fairytale-from-a-fresh-australian-voice

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/sff for more Sydney Film Festival reviews.

A fascinating socio-political study of proto-feminism mixed with exceptionally dark comedy

Thence to see an Italian puppet play that is within the rayles there, which is very pretty, the best that ever I saw.

• Samuel Pepys (May 9, 1662); The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1825)

In my opinion the street Punch is one of those extravagant reliefs from the realities of life which would lose its hold upon the people if it were made moral and instructive. I regard it as quite harmless in its influence, and as an outrageous joke which no one in existence would think of regarding as an incentive to any kind of action or as a model for any kind of conduct.

• Charles Dickens; Letter to Mary Tyler (November 7, 1849)

The debut feature from Australian actress turned writer/director Mirrah Foulkes, working from an idea by English actress Lucy Punch (which, given the subject matter, seems like it's a joke, but isn't) and her brother Tom, Judy & Punch is a (very) dark comedy that presents the fictional background behind the early years of the (in)famous puppet show. Essentially a study in proto-feminism, a look at #MeToo sensibilities applied to a very un-#MeToo society, it's a strange mixture of Monty Python-esque slapstick and serious social critique, taking in misogyny, domestic violence, witchcraft, social stratification, and the exploitation of old age, and wrapping it all up in a gleefully anachronistic and pseudo-magical realist aesthetic, not entirely dissimilar to what you might find in the work of Angela Carter. It's a curious mix that really shouldn't work, and, for many, it probably won't. I can see some finding the tonal balance too skewered towards socio-political protest for it to work as a comedy, whereas others will argue that the comic elements undermine the seriousness of the socio-political agenda. For me, although the film is a beat too long at 105 minutes, I thought Foulkes just about got away with the tonal balancing act – most of...

The dark, absurd period fairy tale “Judy & Punch” makes an accurate observation (and a bold statement) about sex and violence in pop culture, and the mob mentality that can rapidly turn fear into savagery. This strange tale of puppetry, spousal abuse, murder, witchcraft, and revenge is based on the traditional 16th century Punch and Judy puppet show. It’s well told with a funny, sad, and modern feminist spin on the tale from writer / director Mirrah Foulkes.

Things are rough in Seaside, where villagers fill their evenings by attending the marionette theater run by Punch (Damon Herriman), the self-proclaimed “greatest puppeteer,” and his wife Judy (Mia Wasikowska), who holds the real talent in the family. The show is crude and the routine misogynistic without much artistry, as a male puppet beats other puppets, including female ones, with a fist, a stick, or any toy object at hand. As the audience roars their approval, the violence on stage grows meaner and more frequent — and eventually spills into the couple’s real-life home.

Punch, a verbally and physically abusive drunk, dismisses his wife’s flair for the theater and instead screams at her to give the audience what they want: “the punchy and the smashy.” It’s a vicious circle of life imitating art, and vice versa.

The film is well-suited as a modern day criticism on superstition (here, the villages routinely hang and stone citizens suspected of witchcraft), the brutality that can lie dormant in the heart of many, the callousness seems to have taken over routine kindness, and the often dangerous power of the court of public opinion. The dark humor is a sophisticated wrapper for a story that, when the layers are peeled back, is sad and disquieting in so many ways. It’s also a fiercely feminist revenge story that’s deliciously provocative, thanks to a fantastic lead performance from Wasikowska (you can always count on her to make interesting choices when it comes to big screen roles).

There are a few too...