Mental

In 1994 Toni Collette and director PJ Hogan launched their careers with the film 'Muriel's Wedding'. They both return home for this new comedy.

'Mental' is supposed to be a partially autobiographical film. Apparently PJ Hogan's father hired a woman off the streets to look after him and his family. For me that is the problem with the film. 'Muriel's Wedding' is supposedly autobiographical too so both films have virtually the same characters and are set in roughly the same sort of place. Considering that 'Mental' is not a direct sequel to 'Muriel's Wedding' they feel like very similar films. That is not to say that film is not good. 'Mental' has an excellent story and some brilliantly written characters. PJ is able to balance the comedy and drama really well. The comedy is quite wacky and in some cases silly but that's what I quite liked about it.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak about Aussie films and their lack of success. 'Mental' received an MA15+ classification in Australia, I believe that this hindered the film's success at the box office. As someone who works in cinemas I've found that when you restrict the audience of your film you can limit its box office potential. There are some Australian films that should have that restrictive classification, but if you are going to make something that is meant for a mainstream audience then you need to try and reach as many people as possible. This means making the film in a certain way. I do not expect a writer or director to compromise their artistic vision but if you are trying to make a commercially viable film then something like the film's classification is something that needs to be considered. 'Mental' got its MA15+ classification for strong language and themes. The language part could have been changed slightly to fit a lower classification. The film is about mental illness so a slight tweak there could have adjusted the film's strong themes.
With such well written characters the cast of this film has given brilliant performances. Toni Collette is brilliant in everything she does. I don't think she can give a bad performance. I did however think that she put on the Aussie accent a little too strong at times. Anthony LaPaglia is mostly known for his serious roles so I loved to see him do some comedy. Liev Schreiber gives a nicely subtle performance as a shark expert. His Aussie accent is spot on too. All the girl's who play Anthony's daughters in the film are wonderful. But it is Lily Sullivan who stands out as the older daughter. The film's best performance though is by Rebecca Gibney. I was totally blown away by how good she is in this film. She normally plays regular sorts of people and not 'characters' so she really gets into the role.
Another excellent Aussie film that comes just short of greatness. If PJ Hogan had changed the setting and character slightly so they did not feel so much like those from 'Muriel's Wedding' then it would have been perfect.