INNOCENCE (2000/01)
Directed by Paul Cox
Pranayam/MGM, 95 minutes, R (for absolutely no good reason!)
★★★★★
There are numerous films named Innocence, a title that’s usually an irony alert as they are seldom actually “innocent.” This one is and it's the one you want to see. The late, great Roger Ebert summed it with this remark: “Here is the most passionate and tender love story in many years because it is not about the story, not about stars, not about plot, not about sex, not about nudity, but about love itself.”
It's set up is deceptively simple. Two young people, Claire and Andreas, met in Belgium and fell passionately in love. (They are played by Kristine Van Pellicorn and Kenny Aernouts.) Theirs was a storybook kind of love, but because they were young, neither was able to recognize that it was supposed to be a tome, not a novella. They parted with sadness, but with the expectation that comes with youth – that they would eventually move on.
And so they did. Forty years later they unexpectedly meet again in Adelaide, Australia. Both had married and have adult children, though Andreas (Bud Tingwell) is now a widower. Claire (Julia Blake) remains married to John (Terry Norris), a no-nonsense stiff upper lip British type who is deeply practical and rather dull. What begins as an innocent round of coffee and gab between Claire and Andreas quickly evolves into coming to grips with the fact that neither really “moved on,” and they remained spiritually in love in ways their younger selves could not have understood. Call it a soulmate kind of understanding that goes beyond what John or most of their respective offspring can grasp. How does one explain destiny to those who see only the pragmatic? Or Claire's insistence that she's too old not to take a risk?
This is one of the finest looks at mature passion you will ever see. Paul Cox won several prizes abroad for sensitive direction on Innocence. Although he's not very well-known in North America, he is considered one of Australia’s premier directors. (His 1983 film Man of Flowers is another small gym.)
Ebert was correct to note that Innocence isn't about stars, but don't confuse that observation with an assumption that the actors are a bunch of nobodies. Julia Blake is highly regarded in both Australia and Britain and her turn in Innocence will show you why. Hers is a nuanced balance of vacillation and determination, a sort of quiet feminism that blossoms in time to save her from herself.
Bud Tingwell is also a veteran of the Australian screen, whom some North Americans may have seen an offbeat offerings such as Malcolm, Murder Most Foul, and The Castle. He has been one of Paul Cox’s go-to actors for many years because of his plasticity. In Innocence, he is a hangdog Everyman wracked by remorse that's leavened with desire to do the right thing.
Ah, the right thing. That's the crux of Innocence. What does “right” mean? For that matter, how do we define innocence? Is it an objective standard, or is it all a matter of perspective? Cox’s use of flashback interludes raises the bar on how we must consider such questions. But no matter how you resolve such conundrums, you will come away having experienced a love story likes of which Hollywood can't touch. Innocence is an intelligent, deeply moving film that, at the very least, will help you clarify the differences between lust, love, impetuousness, and deep reflection. Innocence does nothing less than dissect love’s connective tissues.
Rob Weir
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