Image via www.canberrafilmfestival.com.au
An element of fantasy underscores most coming-of-age narratives, as youths on the cusp of maturity overcome obstacles, experience the ephemera of life and love, and open their eyes to the adult world. That embrace of the illusory is amplified in My Mistress, as a teenager endeavours to cope with the death of his father and the resulting strain at home through an infatuation with the newcomer in his community: a professional dominatrix.
The wayward boy is Charlie (Harrison Gilbertson, Need for Speed), sullen and withdrawn not just in the manner typical of his age, but after experiencing such a great loss. While his mother, Kate (Rachael Blake, Sleeping Beauty), drowns her sorrows, he wanders, spying Maggie (Emmanuelle Béart, Bye Bye Blondie) looking out of place in suburbia in her towering heels and immaculate make-up. Intrigued after sharing a cigarette, he follows her home. What Charlie finds takes him by surprise, as does Maggie’s own family woes.
Yes, My Mistress tells the age-old tale of a not-so-little boy lost finding solace in the arms of an attractive older woman who makes a living wearing latex, literally cracking a whip, and indulging sadomasochism, bondage and roleplay fetishes. And sadly, despite a tone that aims for sensitivity and seriousness, as complemented by thoughtful framing and stylish cinematography, the film is unable to overcome the awkwardness of that concept. As he guides the audience’s view through peepholes and past long limbs, first-time feature writer/director Stephen Lance clearly intends for the saucy surroundings to enliven well-worn content rather than overpower them, but the latter is inescapable. Also unavoidable is the evident element of wish fulfilment that seethes through a story neither realistic nor convincing.
That’s not to say that the real crux of the narrative, exploring the impact of weakening parental influences – absent fathers and troubled mothers, notably – on two people beholden to their own problems, isn’t without interest. Working with Top of the Lake co-scribe Gerard Lee, it is to Lance’s credit that feelings rather than physicality echoes throughout Maggie and Charlie’s relationship, and that the role of Kate is allowed room to grow and change, albeit implausibly. Alas, again, the choice of packaging remains the film’s weak spot, its treatment proving frustratingly fake, forced and superficial. As Maggie’s line of work is both peered upon and participated in by Charlie to Kate’s growing dismay, the strength of the material comes not from anything salacious, but from the character’s sentiments, though all resonance is lost in the odd pairing of emotion and eroticism.
Amounting to little more than a three-hander, performance-wise, the portrayals are similarly burdened by the material. Béart is the obvious shining light, effortlessly evoking the enigmatic air asked of her reluctant temptress. Gilbertson perfects the teenage male balance of bravado and vulnerability, and Blake adds to the complications between the two leads. And yet, scenes between each of the trio suffer from the same fate as the film overall, wallowing in detachment for a stilted end result. It might be a sense of disconnection that leads the film’s characters to their point of catharsis, but in an effort selling a story of finding the strength to cope with existence’s ills through a sexually experimental encounter, such distance causes the feature to run cold.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
My Mistress
Director: Stephen Lance
Australia, 2014, 104 mins
Release date: November 6
Distributor: Transmission
Rated: MA
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