Doing Time for Patsy Cline
Director: Chris Kennedy(II).
Starring: Matt Day, Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh.
Going in to Doing Time for Patsy Cline, I had no idea what it
was about, a state I love; having a movie unfold before me
where I have no clue if it's going to be a thriller, a comedy or what,
is so much fun. As a result, Doing Time for Patsy Cline
surprised me. Perhaps that says more about me than about this movie
but I didn't see the ending coming at all.
The basic story is of Ralph (Mr. Matt Day), a country boy, heading off
to Nashville to try to make his fortune as a Country singer. Along
the way he meets Patsy (Ms. Miranda Otto) and Boyd (Mr. Richard
Roxburgh). The main focus of the story is the interactions between
these three characters, as well as the standard smattering of
Australian locals.
Ms. Miranda Otto, as always, is superb, and completely
different from any other character I've seen her play. Mr. Richard
Roxburgh, was less satisfying but he had the hardest
part to play: he had to skate the fine line between being a jerk and
being likeable. Mostly he pulled it off but every now and then he
seemed to be struggling.
All the support characters were well done, especially the parents
and the other police station inhabitants. While they were all
slightly exaggerated to get the laughs, they stayed within the bounds
of reason to be believed.
Ultimately, however, the movie rests on
Mr. Matt Day's shoulders. As Ralph, he is incredibly
earnest, young and innocent: perhaps a bit too wide eyed, although his
reactions constantly made me chuckle. How he deals with the
situations in which he finds himself and how he develops over the
course of Doing Time for Patsy Cline is the meat of the
movie. Overall, he's pretty satisfying.
Beneath all this is the question of loyalty and integrity, of what it
means to be an Australian mate. Should Ralph be loyal to Patsy, to
Boyd, or to both? Does he owe them anything? Or does he owe something
to himself and his parents
to at least attempt to fulfill his Nashville dream? What is loyalty?
At the end of the movie, who is better off? All of these questions
and more are raised by Doing Time for Patsy Cline.
Another plus of the movie is the numerous little feints it makes. So
often I thought I spotted a little cliche heading my way, only to see
it cut off at the pass. While with 20-20 hindsight I can see how the
whole movie fit together, I was faked out most times and was quite
pleased to see that things didn't turn out how I expected. As stated
above, little surprises make a movie for me.
The big negative for me was the Country music. Basically I agreed
with Boyd ("You guys ever hear of the minor key? A little
syncopation? Go completely silly and use a diminished cord?") when
my sympathies probably should have been with Ralph. Ralph's naivete
and lack of guile, however, made it possible to forgive him his love
of Country music and want him to succeed.
Rating: D
© Nikki Lesley 1997