First review: New Made-in-SA movie ‘Emotion Is Dead’

Find out what our reviewer thought of “the most South Aussie story ever told”. We also talk to filmmaker Pete Williams ahead of the world premiere.

Part drama, part documentary with a darkly comic twist ending, Emotion Is Dead is a contemporary tribute to all things South Australian, the city of Elizabeth in general and Holden cars in particular.

It’s like the Heaps Good of cinema. There’s West End beer, Farmers Union Iced Coffee, the Big Rocking Horse at Gumeracha and even a frog cake.

Writer-director Pete Williams has crafted a coming-of-age story which shows how the promise of Elizabeth in the 1960s was stolen away from its current generation … and how they are going to steal it back.

Jude Turner is Brock in Emotion Is Dead. Picture: Supplied

Those who grew up singing the Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars jingle (and wearing the slogan on T-shirts) will get a kick out of the vintage footage shown on an old telly inside the now deserted factory, as well as the promotional films used to lure 10-pound Poms here.

Reruns of old Bathurst victories celebrate driver Peter Brock, after whom the film’s teenage protagonist is named.

As Brock, lead actor Jude Turner has a natural flair that grows as we come to know his character, ably supported by Tatiana Goode as ex-girlfriend Kylie and Brad McCarthy as their smug, well-to-do but duplicitous friend Hunter.

As for the adult cast? Well, there’s over-acting and under-acting in spades, just as the plot swings between gritty realism and improbably far-fetched antics.

Cinematographer Johanis Lyons-Reid makes both the city and suburban settings look wonderful, with a particular eye for lush gardens by day and warm light in what would otherwise be stark night scenes.

Holden features heavily. Picture: Supplied

Emotion Is Dead locations include the Holden plant at Elizabeth. Picture: Supplied

There’s also a driving punk rock/Emo soundtrack provided by Adelaide songwriter Max Tulysewski and his band Superdose Gangway, and tracks by other groups including Dashboard Confessional, whose lyrics tie into the plot devices.

A low-budget Tarantino-style stand-off ends in blood-drenched mayhem as Brock’s mum redeems herself with one of the most outrageous lines in movie history.

And yes, as comedy cop duo Trung Le and Zac Scott reveal, we were meant to laugh at it - although how a police car ended upembedded in someone’s house remains a mystery.

Patrick McDonald

BEHIND THE SCENES

Elizabeth’s Holden plant and Peter Brock’s 1979 A9X Torana are being immortalised in a film made on the smell of an oily rag.

Emotion Is Dead – “the most South Aussie story ever told” – was written and directed by Pete Williams, who hails from Adelaide’s northern suburbs and was born at Lyell McEwin Hospital.

The Holden plant is among the locations featured in the crime thriller, which explores the social and economic effect its closure had on the community.

Emotion Is Dead director Pete Williams and stars Jude Turner and Adam Tuominen at the former Holden plant in Elizabeth. Picture: Tom Huntley

Williams invested $300,000 in the project, which he said was “as cheap as you can make a feature film for”.

“I had worked on TV shows and had a bit of money squirrelled away – some people buy a house,” he said.

Williams also had help from sponsors. Rock’n’roll legend Jimmy Barnes, who grew up in Elizabeth, had been a “big support”. His song Shutting Down Our Town, about growing up in Elizabeth and its Holden plant closing in October 2017, is on the soundtrack.

“We called Mushroom Records and they gave us permission to have it covered by Adelaide punk band Superdose Gangway,” Williams said.

Jimmy Barnes on stage. Picture: Grace Kessels

Williams, who comes from a “massive Holden family”, said the film was dedicated to the men and women who worked at the Holden plant. It was also in memory of “true legend” Peter Brock, who died in Perth in 2006 when he lost control in the Targa West Rally and hit a tree. “Before the credits roll there is a double dedication,” Williams said.

Williams said he had met with “Elizabethans” – Elizabeth locals – to learn more about how they were impacted by the Holden plant’s closure.

They included his uncle Ian who worked in the paint shop for three decades.

Emotion Is Dead’s protagonist is an 18-year-old skater boy called Brock, portrayed by Jude Turner, 19, in his first feature film role, who turns to a life of crime to escape poverty.

Brock and his Holden-obsessed mum Shazza, played by Gabby Llewelyn, are both grieving. “There has been a family trauma and Brock is determined to not let that happen to him,” Williams said. “He is also on a journey to get in touch with his emotions again.”

Emotion Is Dead director Pete Williams and stars Adam Tuominen and Jude Turner at the former Holden plant in Elizabeth. Picture: Tom Huntley

Peter Brock in his Holden Torana winning the 1979 Bathurst 1000 race at Mount Panorama. Picture: Advertiser Library

Emotion Is Dead, which will have its world premiere at Goodwood’s Capri on June 28, has been screened before.

The cast and crew had a first look and it was also shown twice at last year’s Adelaide Film Festival.

However, that was before Williams gave it a “cut and polish”, which included scrapping one scene.

Posing with star Turner, Adam Tuominen who plays villain Wayne, and Brock’s Torana, Williams joked they had positioned themselves to hide Marlboro logos on the car. “Archive footage of the car from Bathurst is in the film,” Williams said.

Williams is going to take the film on a road trip across Australia after the premiere.

“From July to September it will be screening in 33 cinemas and we will have Q and A sessions,” he said.

Anyone who worked at the Holden plant will be given a double pass to the movie. For more information visit emotionisdead.com.au

– Anna Vlach