anthonyjlangford The 2006 I.F. awards for Alice Bell's script and for lead actress Emily Barclay (In my Father's Den) already cements Suburban Mayhem's place as one of the more challenging Australian films of recent years. Ms Barclay's nod over Candy's Abbie Cornish gives credence to the power of her performance. To say that her character, 19 year old Kat is gutsy is on par with saying that the Terminator has a few strong points.Kat has balls of steel and isn't afraid to use them. Even though she is already a mother with a supportive boyfriend, she has other ideas about her suburban existence. She is out of control and anyone in her path is fair game. Her antics can make you laugh, but that's only to contain the anxiety. As highlighted in The Boys, such people do exist in suburbia; they could be living next door. In this communication driven age, we are led away from face to face contact and our fears of our neighbors are allowed to manifest. Bell plays on this beautifully.Kat has support around her, yet nothing can quell her demons. Are we products of our environment or we doomed to live according to our genetic predisposition? Paul Goldman's direction is tight, with a distinctive style and builds the tension to breaking point, though his use of music is sometimes over bearing and feels like merely a device to cover the slower scenes. By using the old plot device of showing the conclusion at the beginning, we always know where this is going, and sometimes it feels as though we're simply waiting for the film to catch up.Goldman has surrounded Barclay with a strong cast, particularly Mia Wasikowska as unfortunate participant Lilya and Michael Dorman as a frustrated romantic with more heart than sense. However it is Barclay's scenes with her father, Robert Morgan which oozes truth and holds the film together. We feel his frustration and hope that something will get through.However, its all too obvious. Kat is on a mission. This is part of her problem. She borders on the one dimensional, and yet it is to Barclay's credit that she inspires some little hope for her character where the scriptwriter seemingly had none. If only we had something to relate to in Kat, this might have lifted Suburban Mayhem from being a good Australian film, to one of the greats.And yet, you leave the cinema thinking that she and others like her might still be out there, somewhere. Be afraid? Very

fertilecelluloid A nineteen year old single mother (Emily Barclay) plots to kill her own father because she's a loser; her hope is that she'll get his house and savings. "Suburban Mayhem" could have been a good slice of exploitation, but director Paul Goldman seems ambivalent about the film's tone. Is he making an art film? Is he making a Corman film? Or a Jack Hill film like "Switchblade Sisters"? Ultimately, the film is unsatisfying because it sits on the fence. We get that our "heroine" is a loser and a grand manipulator, but we don't get much else. The film's third act is missing in action, so when the credits start to roll, I asked myself: "Is that it?" The pacing is swift and the film's look is pleasing, but the musical soundtrack is often overbearing and manages to give its non-stop montages a generic feel. Apparently based on a true story, the film lacks focus and is not as overtly fascinating as it ought to be.

salsatee73 I was very excited to see this film after all the hype, i was also looking forward to a funny, insightful portrait of 'SUBURBAN MAYHEM' especially having grown up in a place like the one depicted in the film.I was extremely disappointed. I actually found myself bored for the entire length of the film and it only runs for 90mins. I really can't understand how people are saying this is thrilling or a fantastic Austalian film. It is actually very weak, boring with not much mayhem.I thought Barclay was outstanding but the script and direction was sloppy, the 'documentary' format annoyed me, totally unnecessary.I can see what was trying to be achieved but the script lacked a real depth and direction and i found the characters to be two dimensional.I don't know who is at fault here, the direction or the writing, maybe it was both - but somebody missed the mark completely.

kbandxs Katrina is 19 with a neglected toddler, a lipstick-smeared pout and a bad attitude. Her brother's in jail for murder and her dad's fed up with her bludging off him to finance a life that revolves around the beauty salon, bourbon and blow jobs. Soon she, too, is plotting a murder, which may or may not involve her sweet mechanic boyfriend Rusty or her brother's best mate, Kenny, a dropkick with a sadistic streak. In fact, every man she knows becomes a drooling idiot as soon as she unzips her micro-mini denim skirt. It's a juicy role and Emily Barclay attacks it with relish, making this vile steamroller of a sexpot almost likable. But her brash performance is also the movie's fatal flaw: Hurricane Katrina has it all her own way. Everyone else is too stupid or too nice to stand up to her. We've seen this character before, but Dede Truitt in The Opposite Of Sex and Suzanne Stone in To Die For weren't just bad to the bone, they were better written. Still, like that other wild ride through westie wasteland, Idiot Box, this is a bold, blackly funny picture of the Australia most of us live in, full of noisy energy and visual flair, and for that it deserves a big thumbs-up.