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Babyteeth (film)

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Babyteeth
Official release poster
Directed byShannon Murphy
Screenplay byRita Kalnejais
Based onBabyteeth
by Rita Kalnejais
Produced byAlex White
Starring
CinematographyAndrew Commis
Edited byStephen Evans
Music byAmanda Brown
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release dates
  • 4 September 2019 (2019-09-04) (Venice)
  • 23 July 2020 (2020-07-23) (Australia)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$437,050[1][2]

Babyteeth is a 2019 Australian coming-of-age comedy-drama[3] film directed by Shannon Murphy from a screenplay by Rita Kalnejais, based upon her stage play of the same name. It stars Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Emily Barclay, Eugene Gilfedder, Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 4 September 2019. It was released in Australia on 23 July 2020 by Universal Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Milla Finlay is suffering from a terminal illness and is about to start chemo. On the other hand, Moses has been kicked out of the house. Both Milla and Moses meet at the train platform and become friends.

Milla’s parents, Henry is a therapist and Anna takes drugs to cope with her daughter’s illness. Milla brings Moses home to meet her parents. Anna admits to being put off by Moses being 23 while Milla is still a teen.

Milla takes violin lessons from her tutor Gidon. He helps her practice along with a neighbor boy named Tin Wah. Meanwhile, Henry goes to see the fuss over a barking dog and a pregnant neighbor, Toby. They share a laugh after learning that Toby’s dog is also named Henry.

One night, Moses breaks into Milla's house to look for food and other things. Anna catches him and calmly tries to talk him down, but Henry and Milla come in and witness the scene. Milla steps in to diffuse the situation and suggests that Moses stay for breakfast since it’s almost morning. Henry and Anna agree and have breakfast with Moses before Milla gets ready for school by unveiling her new wig, which Moses really likes.

Moses visits Milla later. Milla sits by the pool while Moses swims for a little. She asks him to the formal and he accepts, but the moment is ruined when Milla starts to feel like she’s going to vomit. Milla asks Anna for the drugs, but Moses reveals he swiped them. Anna makes him leave, and Milla asks Moses if he only hangs out with her for the drugs and if he is making fun of her. He nods yes to the drugs but shakes his head for the second part.

Henry goes to Toby’s house again, and after a chat, he impulsively kisses her. He immediately regrets it even though she didn’t mind it. Henry goes home and sits with regret over it, and although he doesn’t outright say it, Anna seems to understand but forgives him. Henry then invites Moses to stay with them even though he doesn’t like him, just because he wants Milla to be happy.

Moses stays with the Finlays and helps with things like making dinner. Things go well with him and Milla, and they even prepare to go to formal together until Milla finds out Henry is signing Moses’s drug prescriptions the same way he is with Anna. Milla rants to her parents and Moses, forcing him to leave because she thinks he doesn’t really care about her. He goes to his old house to see Isaac again, but he is once again driven out by their mother. He returns to Milla’s room and tells her he cares for her a lot and that he doesn’t know what he’ll do if she dies. They talk some more and spend the night together.

Milla’s parents host a birthday party for her, inviting all the neighbors. After the festivities, Milla and Moses prepare to have sex for the first time. She feels that now is a good time to die, and she asks him to smother her since she cannot take the pain from the sickness any longer. Moses tries but cannot go through with it, and the two have sex. Later that night, Milla wakes up and walks outside to look up at the sky one last time and listen to the birds.

In the morning, Moses wakes up next to Milla. Moses doesn’t outright say anything, but Henry appears to already know what happened. Anna walks into Milla’s room to give her breakfast but finds that she is dead. As she comes out ready to yell at Moses, he insists that she was already dead when he woke up. Anna breaks down and Moses holds her, while Henry goes into the bedroom to kiss his daughter one last time.

Flashback is shown with Moses and the family at the beach. While Milla is taking Henry’s picture, she asks him to take care of Moses when she is gone, and Henry agrees.

Cast

Release

Babyteeth had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2019, where it competed for the Golden Lion.[4][5] It also screened at the BFI London Film Festival on 6 October 2019, where it competed in the First Feature Competition.[6] Shortly after, IFC Films and Picturehouse Entertainment acquired US and UK distribution rights to the film, respectively.[7][8]

The film was released in the United States on 19 June 2020,[9] and in Australia on 23 July 2020 by Universal Pictures.[10][11][12]

Reception

Babyteeth received positive reviews from film critics, when it screened at the Venice Film Festival.[13] On Rotten Tomatoes it has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 94% based on reviews from 130 critics, with an average rating of 7.52/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Powerfully acted and sensitively directed, Babyteeth offers audiences a coming-of-age story that's messier – and more rewarding – than most."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[15]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film "B+", calling it "a movie that's off-kilter but always raw; delicate, but never precious".[16] Variety's Guy Lodge describes it as an "arresting feature debut for both director Shannon Murphy and screenwriter Rita Kalnejais".[3] Michael O'Sullivan of the Houston Chronicle praised Babyteeth, stating that it "works precisely because it refuses to accommodate expectation."[17]

Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film five stars and described it as an "emotionally shattering feature debut from Shannon Murphy".[18]

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result Ref.
2019 Gijón International Film Festival Best Film Shannon Murphy Nominated [1]
Hamburg Film Festival Best Feature Film [2]
London Film Festival First Feature Competition [3]
Marrakech International Film Festival Best Feature Film [4]
Best Actor Toby Wallace Winner
Mumbai Film Festival Golden Gateway Award Shannon Murphy Nominated [5]
Pingyao International Film Festival Gala-Best Film Winner [6]
São Paulo International Film Festiva Best Film [7]
Venice Film Festival Best Young Actor or Actress Toby Wallace [8]
Nave d'Argento for Best OTP Eliza Scanlen,

Toby Wallace

Golden Lion Shannon Murphy Nominated
Warsaw International Film Festival Feature Film [9]
Zurich Film Festival Golden Eye [10]
International Feature Film Winner
2020 Brussels International Film Festival Grand Prix du Festival [11]
FEST International Film Festival Best Screenplay Rita Kalnejais [12]
Best Film Shannon Murphy Nominated
Film Club's The Lost Weekend Best Actress Eliza Scanlen Winner [13]
Best Supporting Actor Ben Mendelsohn
Best Supporting Actress Essie Davis
Best Soundtrack Amanda Brown
Luxembourg City Film Festival Teen Jury Award Shannon Murphy [14]
Grand Prix Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival Directors to Watch Winner [15]
Transilvania International Film Festival Audience Award [16]
Best Film

References

  1. ^ "Babyteeth (2020)". The Numbers. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Babyteeth". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b Lodge, Guy (4 September 2019). "Film Review: 'Babyteeth'". Variety. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  4. ^ "Venezia 76 Competition". labiennale.org. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (25 July 2019). "Joker, Ad Astra, The Laundromat, Marriage Story to Compete in Venice". Variety. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Babyteeth". bfi.org.uk. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. ^ McNary, Dave (15 October 2019). "Eliza Scanlen Drama 'Babyteeth' Lands at IFC for North America". Variety. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  8. ^ Dalton, Ben (4 October 2019). "Picturehouse Entertainment acquires Venice Competition title 'Babyteeth' for UK". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Babyteeth". IFC Films. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  10. ^ Groves, Don (1 June 2020). "Universal sets release dates for 'Babyteeth' and 'Slim & I'". IF.com.au. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  11. ^ Straker, Damien (29 August 2019). "BABYTEETH – Trailer, Synopsis, and Poster". ImpulseGamer.com. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  12. ^ York, Keva (21 July 2020). "Australian film Babyteeth stars Eliza Scanlen in bittersweet tale of first love soured by sickness". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. ^ Groves, Don (5 September 2019). "Shannon Murphy's 'Babyteeth' wows the critics in Venice". InsideFilm. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Babyteeth (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Babyteeth Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  16. ^ Ehrlich, David (4 September 2019). "'Babyteeth' Review: Eliza Scanlen Leads Vibrant and Touching Australian Cancer Drama". IndieWire. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  17. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (19 June 2020). "Moving yet unsentimental Aussie film 'Babyteeth' is worth your time". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  18. ^ Maher, Kevin. "Babyteeth review — an emotionally shattering feature debut from Shannon Murphy". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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