Josh Lawson wants The Little Death to get Australia talking about sex
JOSH Lawson wants Australians to talk more about sex after making a provocative comedy, that explores the kinks and fetishes of middle class Australians.
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JOSH Lawson wants to talk about sex. And he’s quite happy for his audience to take that discussion a step further.
“I hope it sparks a frank and interesting conversation in this country about sex,’’ says the actor-turned-director of his feature film debut, The Little Death, a provocative comedy that explores the kinks and fetishes of a diverse bunch of middle class Australians.
“It might get us to have some more experiences in the bedroom too — hopefully fun, positive sexual experiences.”
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The Little Death, which he describes as “Hunger Games for comedy”, is something of an oddity in a country that is traditionally coy when it comes to cinema sex (Alvin Purple and Better Than Sex notwithstanding).
“Australians don’t do it very well on screen,’’ says Lawson. “But I think we are ready to talk about it. We are just waiting for someone to be the first to bring it up.”
Lawson’s experience at the Toronto Film Festival, where The Little Death premiered earlier this month to full houses, only reinforced that suspicion.
“The organisers told me that usually at Q&A sessions, it’s quite difficult to get people to ask questions. But with The Little Death, it was hard to get them to shut up.”
Even more surprising were the responses from early screenings where exit polls suggested audiences regarded The Little Death, which takes its title from the French term for orgasm (La Petite Mort), as a date movie.
“Sex is certainly a part of this film but I wouldn’t say it’s the whole film. It’s about relationships, communication, romance. I think they are all love stories, twisted though they may be.
“And it turns out people like watching it with their partners,” says Lawson.
Shot in the suburbs of Sydney, The Little Death interweaves the stories of a bunch of ordinary couples, each of them grappling with a registered paraphilia.
Some — such as Bojana Novakovic’s rape fantasy — are more confronting than others.
“You have got to understand that rape fantasies are extremely common,’’ says Lawson. “I can say that after deeply researching the subject. I don’t apologise for making a movie that challenges some people.
“Does it have some spiky edges? Of course, that’s part of what it means to be on a roller coaster. It should take you to the edge and pull you back.”
The edgy nature of the material is one of the reasons it took Lawson eight years to get the film made.
“Comedy is always risky because it’s so subjective,” he says.
And in this film, the humour is exceptionally dark.
Kym Gyngell’s paedophile, for instance, gives handmade golliwog biscuits to his new neighbours to distract them from the fact he must, by law, make them aware of his criminal past.
While sex is generally regarded as the domain of European cinema, international audiences have embraced the Australian director’s decision to muscle in on that turf.
The Little Death was snapped up by distributors in Europe and Taiwan off the back of its success in Toronto. US rights are in negotiation.
Lawson is hoping the film will be equally well-received at the local box office, even though this year has been particularly punishing for Australian filmmakers, who are collectively heading for the lowest share of the box office in a decade.
“It can’t work any worse than it’s working for every other film,” he says.
“It is sometimes so sad when you see great films in this country that just don’t find an audience. It’s sad for the director, and sad for the audience that missed out on seeing that film. All I can do is make the film I wanted to make. And then try and get people to take a chance.
“That’s my challenge to Australian audiences. Take a chance. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
THE LITTLE DEATH OPENS September 25.
Originally published as Josh Lawson wants The Little Death to get Australia talking about sex
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