The Thousands

Call it ‘writer/director syndrome’, but actor Leon Ford’s debut feature seems rather formless. The tone twists along with the plot, which keeps on trucking past several potentially satisfying endings. Was Ford making a superhero pastiche in the vein of Kick-Ass? An Amélie-style whimsical romcom? Perhaps even an Aussie DIY quirkfest along the lines of Malcolm?

Its Sydney locations inject charm and verve (notably, a lovely perspective shot involving the old Griffiths Teas building in Surry Hills). But Griff The Invisible is fatally uncertain about whether to celebrate Griff (Ryan Kwanten) and Melody (Maeve Dermody) as imaginative oddballs, or view them as mentally ill, requiring ‘care’. Angel Baby, Benny and Joon, The Science of Sleep and Lars and the Real Girl were all more explicit about this in various ways. I think you’ve gotta be.

Kwanten, so funny and expressive in True Blood, seems uneasily wooden here, although Dermody’s knowingly deadpan performance displays a light touch. Toby Schmitz clearly relishes his role as Griff’s smarmy workplace tormentor Tony, but the film is most affecting when Griff’s brother Tim (Patrick Brammall) and Melody’s dad (Marshall Napier) knowingly encourage the young lovers’ fantasies.