A young woman discovers she has a half-sister and, after meeting her for the first time, encounters the grief, rage, jealousy, and injustice that govern their lives. This is Davo Hardy’s social drama The Switchblade Sisterhood.
Davo Hardy’s politically aware The Switchblade Sisterhood is the portrait of two young girls named Lacy and Breanna, who in the beginning, despite not knowing they are sisters, are exactly the same as each other, with both being angry, isolated and lost. Lacey is played by Catherine Tomsen, while the more controlled (yet just as lonely) Breanna is portrayed by British Flower.
When we first meet Lacey she is at the doctor’s getting a check-up. She is brash and confident but, after finding out the woman she believed to be her mum is not her biological mother, she becomes so hurt and so lonely that her demeanor changes instantly.
Rachele Edson plays Vanessa, Lacey’s now foster mum, and she doesn’t put up much of a fight telling Lacey the truth almost immediately. Her (now foster) father Dean is a disabled man addicted to petrol and paint fumes – regularly receiving his supplies from partner Vanessa. From this moment on, we begin to pity poor Lacey. Breanna too has her problems, her mother has recently died leaving her in the care of her dad – a spiritualist hippy whose attempts to appeal to his daughter’s psyche fall on deaf ears. The film takes place in a bright yet bleak Australia with no suggestion that there is any place where these girls can go to find the help, care, or encouragement they both desperately need.
As Lacey, Catherine Tomsen provides us with meaningful displays of hostility. She is constantly angry and is always conversing with her stepmum and dad in screams and shouts. When both girls learn for the first time that they are sisters who share the same dad, it is during a heated argument. Initial feelings towards each other are full of suspicion and jealousy. In the beginning, British Flower as Breanna remains a warm, calm, and welcoming influence, which is the complete opposite of her sister. However, as the plot thickens, Breanna begins to learn about second-wave feminism and gets into fights when she tries to argue with affluent posh people. Eventually, these roles become reversed. Vanessa, meanwhile, begins to rekindle her lost romance with Lacey and Breanna’s dad and it becomes clear that Lacey and Breanna are so much happier when their parents aren’t at home.
Davo Hardy’s cinematography often serves to emphasize the two girls’ confinement within their surroundings. Close-ups create a sense of claustrophobia and entrapment, mirroring the sisters’ feelings. Wide shots, on the other hand, can emphasize the isolation and alienation from the sunny, bright-yet-ultimately dark environment. In addition, Hardy utilizes natural light, while his sound design creates ambient tones that reflect and amplify the characters’ emotions.
The Switchblade Sisterhood is a somewhat overwrought film with a smart script and while the main performances of the girls are strong, the rest of the cast are sometimes a little too animated. At 120 minutes it does feel overlong, but Hardy manages to take a few political swipes at misogyny and the class system without striking any major blows. In the end, we are left feeling a little bit unfulfilled with a big sense of what might have been, but it remains a thoroughly entertaining ride throughout.
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