INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS
A Boy's Best Friend (And Foe) Is His Lovable Lonesome Mother
The Popcorn Reel Movie Review: "Introducing The Dwights"
By Omar P.L. Moore/July 5, 2007
Teaching tenderness and love: Emma Booth (as Jill) introduces Khan Chittenden
(as Tim) to a new phase of his development as a young man in Cherie Nowlan's
film "Introducing The Dwights", which opened yesterday in New York and Los
Angeles and opens in additional U.S. cities on July 13. The film recently
opened in Australia. (Photos: Warner Independent Pictures)
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Cherie Nowlan pulls the emotions and entanglements of real
situations and injects them into her wonderful new film "Introducing The Dwights",
which opened yesterday in New York and Los Angeles. (The film opened in
Australia last week and opens in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and other
cities on July 13.) Keith Thompson's well-drawn, keenly-observed and
balanced screenplay is as much a priceless asset to the film (originally titled
"Clubland" when it debuted at January's Sundance Film Festival) as Ms. Nowlan's
assured direction is.
But as skilled as both are in crafting an entertaining comedy-drama, they owe
big debts to Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn, who superbly brings to life Jean
Dwight, the head of a household consisting of Tim, her late-blooming adolescent
son (Khan Chittenden) and Mark, her mentally-challenged son (Richard Watson).
Jean is a celebrated British comedian and variety performer and has been a big
hit for years with audiences at Clubland, in Australia. Jean sometimes
isn't so much of a hit with Tim however, whose foray into intimate engagements
with the opposite sex, specifically Jill (Emma Booth) goes less than smoothly
and are occasionally preempted by a mother's call for milk in the evening hours
(there's a cheeky and perhaps unintended double entendre about Jean's call to
Tim.) To add to the complications, Jean's musician and performer husband
John (Frankie J. Holden - a real-life musician in Australia) is estranged from
her, moonlighting as a security guard while performing his variety act.
Jean's would-be admirer, great Australian performer Ronnie Stubbs (played by
Philip Qualls) also makes his presence felt, while Jean's manager Shane (Russell
Dykstra) tries to both enliven and keep her career afloat with new gigs.
"Dwights" consists of two central stories: that of a doting mother internally
struggling with the transition to late middle-aged life, and the uneasy
evolution of a late-blooming son who hasn't experienced the carnal knowledge of
a woman, and puts both on a dramatic collision course, the road to which has
been filled with humor, tension, longing and loneliness. The stories work
seamlessly even as they contain an underlying discomfort that keeps the audience
on edge. The film doesn't make enemies out of Jean or Tim, although
audiences will inevitably favor Tim, whom Khan Chittenden plays with all the
right depth and nuance. Despite audience loyalties, Mr. Thompson's script
rejects any invitation to make judgments about its characters, and it is this
balance and open-endedness that is at the heart of the film's immense appeal.
In short, "Introducing The Dwights" is about real people in real situations that
never feel manipulative.
Cherie Nowlan's film is also a comedy of sex. It is sexually charged and
without the voyeurism often at the epicenter of other films. Films are
always most truthful when situations emerge naturally from the story and not out
of a need to fill gaps or titillate an audience with a scene from left field (or
mid-gully, if you are Australian or are a cricket fan.) The scenes of
intimacy and sexual exploration are shown as fresh discoveries and revelations
for the audience as much as they are for the young male protagonist. The
awkwardness and embarrassment of some of these scenes between Tim and Jill
actually make them more exciting, powerful and less choreographed. Ms.
Nowlan (who has previously directed films like "The Wedding Party" a.k.a. "Thank
God He Met Lizzie", and an epic television film in her home country of
Australia) excels here at cornering uneasy moments and raw emotions, sticking a
pin in them and letting them scream out -- whether softly, abrasively or in a
primal way. These emotions and awkward feelings are human, adult and
thoroughly credible, and resonate through the pace of Nowlan's relaxed
direction, from all of her actors, and in the film's cinematography by Mark
Wareham.
Natural love and tenderness: Brenda Blethyn as Jean Dwight and Mr.
Chittenden as Jean's son Tim Dwight in "Introducing The Dwights".
Ms. Blethyn is phenomenal as Jean and her anguish, loneliness
and resentment of new female competition for her son Tim shows in both delicate
and bitingly harsh ways. You really feel the depths and insides of this
woman's isolation as well as her undying love for her sons -- and her caustic
wit and bawdy onstage act as an entertainer pierces you. Jean brings the
same bawdiness and foul-mouthed performance act offstage into the Dwight
household. Ms. Blethyn (amazing in films like "Secrets And Lies") could
have taken Jean to more volatile places but she chooses to keep Jean's
ever-changing moods gently percolating within. She contains Jean even as
boiling cauldrons and fissures exist within her and in her armor that make her a
complex, sympathetic and compassionate character. Blethyn's performance
wins a guaranteed Oscar nomination next January.
Richard Watson is also outstanding as Mark, never forcing his performance as the
mentally-challenged Mark. His physicality is natural and the degree to
which Mr. Watson inhabits Mark without mimicking or impersonating the situations
of his character are a testament to his acting ability. Some actors would
mimic the character and play it for shallow laughs, but Watson always stay true
to Mark. The small, quiet moments between Mark and Tim are also borne out
of a sense of familiarity and authenticity that sparks an affectionate bond
between the two siblings; Mr. Chittenden and Mr. Watson make these brothers from
the same mother a treat to watch. Miss Booth, a model from Down Under,
gives a precociousness to Jill that is beautiful, ribald, adventurous and
daring. Her character isn't vengeful, nor is she interested in playing
catfight games with Blethyn's Jean; she just sees Jean as a wounded obstacle who
can't let her son leave the nest and achieve his own autonomy and happiness.
Booth is engaging and her attractiveness as Jill is natural -- it springs less
from her pretty looks than from her onscreen role her as Tim's teacher, advisor
and take-charge leader who wonders how she ended up entangled in a family that
is as wildly busy and occasionally off-kilter as this one is.
"Introducing The Dwights" is a warm, charming and colorful treat. The film
endearingly references the great magician-comedian Tommy Cooper. Anyone in
Britain or in other parts of the world will have an affectionate chuckle for the
late Mr. Cooper, who died tragically in 1984 onstage in London doing what he did
best: entertaining on stage before a live theater and television audience.
On Jean's mantelpiece there are also pictures of the British comedians Morecambe
& Wise. Jean is surrounded by comedic and dramatic greatness, and so is
the film that Nowlan, Thompson, Blethyn and the rest of the cast -- which
includes Rebecca Gibney as Lana, Jean's best friend -- so masterfully engineer.
"Introducing The Dwights" is rated R for sexual content and
language by the Motion Picture Association of America. The film's duration
is one hour and 45 minutes. The film, which also features Katie Wall as
Kelly, Jill's roommate, is now playing in Australia, New York City and Los
Angeles. On July 13 the film opens in at least ten other U.S. cities.
Rosemary Blight produced the film, which is released in the U.S. by Warner
Independent Pictures.
Related:
The Popcorn Reel Feature
Story: "Introducing Brenda, Cherie . . . and Jean"
The Popcorn Reel audio
interview: Brenda Blethyn and Cherie Nowlan
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