Acute Misfortune

Acute Misfortune is a 2018 Australian drama film co-written, directed and produced by Thomas M. Wright. The story is based on Sydney journalist Erik Jensen's biography of Australian artist Adam Cullen, who died at the age of 46, and stars Daniel Henshall as Adam Cullen.

Acute Misfortune
Film poster
Directed byThomas M. Wright
Produced byThomas M. Wright, Virginia Kay, Jamie Houge, Liz Kearney
Written by
Based onBiography of artist Adam Cullen by Erik Jensen
Starring
Music byEvelyn Ida Morris
Cinematography
  • Germain McMicking
  • Stefan Duscio
Edited byLuca Cappelli
Production
companies
Arenamedia
Release date
  • August 4, 2018 (2018-08-04) (Melbourne International Film Festival)[1][2]
Running time
90 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The plot tells part of the story of the deeply troubled award-winning artist Adam Cullen's life (1965-2012), specifically his relationship with his biographer, Erik Jensen, as it descends into a dependent and abusive relationship.[3]

Cast

Themes

The focus of the film is on the complex relationship between the artist and his biographer, and Wright said that he had wanted to make the film "full of beauty, full of possibility...[with] A lightness, an accessibility and an honesty”. He rejects the bio-pic moniker, and says that he did not set out to make a biography, nor a "faithful transcription of the book"; he wanted to question the book.[4]

Production

The film was based on Jensen's 2015 biography of Cullen, Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen. The book won the 2015 Nib Literary Award as well as being shortlisted for the Walkley Book Award and the Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction.[5][6] Wright co-wrote the screenplay with Jensen.[7]

Authenticity was important to Wright: Henshall lost 22 kilograms (49 lb) during the making of the film, wore Cullen’s clothes, painted with his paints and paintbrushes, worked closely with Cullen's assistant, and met many of Cullen's friends, caregivers, former partners and lawyers.[4]

Wright co-produced the film with Virginia Kay, Jamie Houge and Liz Kearney. Luca Capelli edited the film, Germain McMicking and Stefan Duscio were the directors of photography, Leah Popple production designer and Robert Connolly executive producer. Evelyn Ida Morris wrote the score.[7][8]

Release

The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) in August 2018,[9] and played at the Adelaide Film Festival in October that year. [4][3] It was also shown at the 2018 Brisbane International Film Festival and the 2019 Edinburgh International Film Festival.[8]

It was released in Australian cinemas in May 2019, starting with question and answer sessions at selected cinemas.[7]

Critical response

Acute Misfortune received a five star review and was named the best Australian film of 2019 by The Guardian,[1][10]. It was later named one of The Guardian's "10 Best Australian Films of the decade 2010-2020"[11] The Hollywood Reporter called Acute Misfortune "one of the year's most striking and accomplished directorial debuts".[12]

The film received The Age Critics' Prize at Melbourne International Film Festival[13] and was nominated for the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Independent Film.[14]. It was given a "Notable mention" (along with Sweet Country) in The Monthly Awards 2018,[9] and Screen Daily called it an "overlooked gem" in their list of the Best Films of the year.[15] Wright is nominated in the Best Director (Feature Film) category for Acute Misfortune at the 2020 Australian Director's Guild Awards. [16]

For his work, Henshall was nominated for the 2019 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor [17] and 2020 Australian Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor [18]. The score, by Evelyn Ida Morris, was nominated for best soundtrack at the 2018 ARIA Music Awards.[19]

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References
  1. Buckmaster, Luke (3 August 2018). "Acute Misfortune first-look review – Adam Cullen biopic is an enthralling, complex triumph". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. "MIFF Archive:". MIFF 2020. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  3. "Acute Misfortune". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ""This idea that a biography can be objective is, I think, completely false." Thomas M. Wright Talks 'Acute Misfortune'". Adelaide Film Festival. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. "Erik Jensen: Bringing writing back to journalism". The Garret. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. Morris, Linda (25 November 2015). "Erik Jensen's biography of flawed artist Adam Cullen wins Sydney literary award". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  7. "Home". Acute Misfortune. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  8. "Acute Misfortune (2019) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  9. Glass-Kantor, Alexie (October 2018). "The Monthly Awards 2018: Film: 'Terror Nullius' by Soda–Jerk". The Monthly. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019.
  10. Buckmaster, Luke (16 December 2019). "From The Final Quarter to Judy & Punch: the best Australian films of 2019". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  11. Buckmaster, Luke (10 December 2019). "From Animal Kingdom to The Babadook: the best Australian films of the decade". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  12. Young, Neil (17 August 2018). "'Acute Misfortune': Film Review - Melbourne 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  13. https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/acute-misfortune-wins-the-age-critics-award-at-miff-20180810-p4zwsb.html
  14. "Winners & Nominees". AACTA. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  15. Ward, Sarah (20 December 2018). "Films of the year 2018: Sarah Ward". Screen. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  16. https://www.adg.org.au/news/adg-awards-2020
  17. "2019 Awards Winners". Film Critics Association of Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  18. "2020 AWARDS". Australian Film Critics Association. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  19. "Aria Awards". ARIA Awards. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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