post-apocalypticwithoutsuch assistancefrom the filmmak-
ers (if anything,I would’veguessedthat the psychologically
unstablefather had abscondedto the outbackà la Debra
Granik’s2018 filmLeaveNo Trace). Similarly,it wasn’tclear
that the aforementionedconfessionalsare documentary-style
conversationswith theactors, ratherthan the characters
they’replaying,until I encounteredSullivan saying as much
in an interviewwithFilm in Revolt.^7
It’s importantto emphasisethat what I’m critiquingisn’t
the surrealisticsetting.Indeed,the film’s distinctivesurrealist
qualitiesare its best features,and demonstrativeof the direc -
tor’s talent. In thatFilm in Revoltpiece, he asserts:I saw a story like this potentiallybeinga bit too realisticand
that it couldbecometoo unoriginaland dull in a sense.In
order for peopleto connectto it I had to approach it from
a completely different aspect.^8While I don’t necessarilyexpectReflectionsin the Dustto
providea realisticbackgroundor setting,given its experimen-
tative approach,I do think that it suffersfrom the absence
ofanemotionalrealitywith whichto engageitsaudience.
Despiteall its close-upcamerawork,the film leavesa dis-
tance betweenits charactersand viewers.This is further
exacerbatedby the affectedcostuming;in additionto The
Clown’smake-up,Frecklesis often clad in a vintagewed-
ding dress,while their erstwhilevisitorshave their own
masquerade-esquelooks.As committedas the actorsare- and Quereeand Houboltcertainlyhold nothingback – the
lack of empatheticgroundingfor their situationkeepsus
at arm’s length.And that’s only reinforcedby the awkward
(deliberatelyso, I presume)confessionalscenes,which re-
mind us of the separationbetweenperformerand character.
Generously,you can read this as Sullivan’sattempt
to createa Brechtianchasmbetweenhis playersand his
audience,^9 underliningthe artificialityof the exercisethrough
a carefully developed surrealistic environment. Maybe. But
that flies in the face of Sullivan’searlierquote about want-
ing to ‘get under [his audience’s]skin’ and the synopsis’s
emphasison the film’s ‘extreme’nature.Reflectionsin the
Dustis left to compelor confrontits audienceaesthetically
and perhapsacademically,but, despitedesperatelystriving
for emotionalaffect, its overall effect is numbing.Purpose
Reflectionsin the Dust’s publicitymaterialproudlyproclaims
that it’s a ‘powerfulallegoryfor the epidemicof violence
againstwomenin Australia’.^10 That statementis implicitly
linkedto the aforementionedcontroversy,and I can under-
stand why a film tacklingsuch a contentiousissue might
come off as polemical.Depictingviolenceagainstwomen- and, particularly,domesticviolence– withouttopplingover
into exploitationis tricky. A coupleof years ago, I praised
BenYoung’sHoundsof Love(2016)for its insightsinto the
psychologyof domesticviolence,^11 but the film was just as
readily– and reasonably– attackedby critics for beingmi-
sogynisticor otherwiseproblematic.^12
That comparisonisn’t arbitrary;Sullivanhasidentified
‘early 2000shorrormovies’as formativeinfluenceson his
filmmaking:‘theTexasChainsawMassacreremake[Marcus
Nispel]from 2003 [...]Hostel[Eli Roth, 2005] – that crazy tor-
ture horrormovie– andWolf Creek[Greg McLean,2005]’.^13
It’s instructiveto comparefilms from this genre,whichare
often pilloriedfor their depictionsof violence,particularly
againstwomen,toReflectionsin the Dust. While Sullivan’s
film avoidsexpliciton-screenviolenceuntil its final minutes,
when The Clown(non-lethally)drownshis daughterin a
floodedlake, it operatessimilarlyto many horrorfilms in
the way it buildsdread throughthe developmentof a toxic
relationship.But, whereasa conventionalhorrorfilm might
be contentevokingan emotionalresponsefrom its audience - as discussed,an area in whichReflectionsin the Dustfalls
down – this is a film positioning itself as, again, a ‘powerful
WHILEI DON’TNECESSARILYEXPECTREFLECTIONSINTHEDUST
TOPROVIDEA REALISTICBACKGROUNDORSETTING... I DO
THINKTHATIT SUFFERSFROMTHEABSENCEOFANEMOTIONAL
REALITY WITH WHICH TO ENGAGE ITS AUDIENCE.32 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM