waterloo
by Douglas Messerli
P. J. Hogan (writer and director) Muriel's Wedding / 1994, USA 1995
1994 was a great year for Australian
actor, Bill Hunter, who played in two of the ABBA movies I'm discussing, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert and Muriel's Wedding.
Although he appeared in no scenes in which ABBA songs were played or discussed,
I'd be fascinated to know his opinion of the popular Swedish group.
A "gentleman" of the old school in Priscilla, in Muriel's
Wedding Hunter plays a thorough scoundrel, Bill Heslop, a failed
politician, now serving as Council President in the small town of Porpoise
Spit. Heslop is an uneducated tyrant, whose four children appear to be slightly
mentally retarded. His abused wife, Betty (Jeanie Drynan) seems to have lost
herself along the way, spending much of the film in a kind empty reverie.
Mostly the children sit watching the telly or, in the case of Muriel (Toni
Collette), running to her bedroom to escape into the fantasy world of ABBA.
As Muriel walks through the house, she observes the groom having sex in
a laundry room with another girl of the group, not the bride.
Soon after, the police show up, and Muriel is carted off. She has
evidently stolen the outrageous costume upon her frame. The embarrassment and
shame of her acts are all her father can endure, as he buys off the policemen
by chatting up memories of their sports pasts and sending then off with a case
of beer. Muriel's younger sister Joanie chimes in, as she does from time to
time, "You're terrible, Muriel."
Soon after we witness a business dinner in which the despicable Heslop
berates his family in from of his Japanese guests. A friend happens to drop by:
Bill: Deidre
Chambers. What a coincidence.
The event and reaction happens so many times throughout the film that
the humor gradually begins to turn into a sharp knife that cuts through the
comedic structure of Muriel's Wedding,
particularly when we begin to perceive the consequences of his not-so-secret
affair. His wife, however, currently remains clueless, as Deidre praises her as
part of the distraction. Betty is so bruised that any kind statement absolutely
lights up her face.
So too has Muriel loss any sense of self-worth. As her
"friends" plan a junket to an island get-away, Muriel fantasizes that
she may join them. In no uncertain terms they tell her that they do not want
her company any longer, not just on the holiday, but ever. Muriel bursts into
tears, which they see as further proof of her inability to "behave"
appropriately.
Not only is Heslop having a relationship with Deidre, but he requests
his own wife weekly to write out a check to her. This time it is made out to
cash with no amount specified. Since Muriel has made an appointment to meet
with Deidre about selling beauty products, she is asked to deliver the
check—with the near-inevitable outcome.
So begins the real story of Muriel, as she shows up, much to their dismay,
at the same hotel where the girls are staying. This time something different
happens: another woman appears, who seems to know Muriel:
Rhonda: Are you Muriel
Heslop?
Muriel: No.
Rhonda: Yes, you are!
Muriel: Why?
Rhonda: I don't know why,
you just are.
So begins a series of denials and
lies about Muriel's own identity, as she attempts to carve out a new self that
might be closer to her dreams—all of which include marriage and the joy, at
least to her way of thinking, that comes with it.
Those "circumstances" include an investigation of Muriel’s father (since Muriel has written a check for far more than his account balance), her and Rhonda's escape to Sydney—where Rhonda initiates her into a world of wild heterosexual sex—and Rhonda's sudden collapse, signaling that she has cancer, the operation leaving her crippled for life. Through this whirlwind of events, Muriel matures somewhat—as she observes to her new friend:
When I lived in
Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for
hours and listen to
ABBA songs. But since I've met you
and moved to Sydney, I
haven't listened to one ABBA song.
That's because my life
is as good as an ABBA song.
It's as good as
"Dancing Queen."
Yet she has still not come to terms with herself and her desires—she is
still, after all, a bit slow-minded; she has yet to comprehend who she is and
what she might truly want out of life. Secretly, Muriel, who now calls herself
"Mariel," begins to visit wedding dress shops, trying out various
dresses and collecting the photographs into an album as if she has lived an
entire life of wedding-going, with her always as the bride!
When Rhonda discovers the album and confronts her, Muriel cannot
understand why this has caused such a rift between them. Soon after, she signs
up for a sham wedding with a handsome South African swimmer determined to join
the Australian team by obtaining marital citizenship.
The wedding itself is a grand affair, with the braggart Heslop in his
prime, Deidre at his side. Betty arrives late, but is not even observed by her
excitedly giggling offspring. Even though it is a not a "true"
wedding, Muriel obviously sees herself as having gotten what she so longed for.
And, one must admit, she has suddenly blossomed into a beautiful bride.
Rhonda's reaction, that of a spurned lover, severs their relationship:
You're right, you are a new
person, and you stink. "Muriel Van Arkle"
stinks. And she's not half
the person Muriel Heslop was.
Even her new "husband," David Van
Arkle (Daniel Lapaine) cannot explain his wife's behavior:
David: What kind of
person marries someone they don't know?
Muriel: You did.
David: I want to win. All
my life I've wanted to win.
Muriel. Me too.
She has, of course, "won" nothing except the money she has
been paid. A telephone call reports her mother's death. Suddenly, Muriel is
forced to face realities she has never dared to. Her mother, having burned the
grass her lazy son consistently refused to mow, has committed suicide. Deidre
is already busy house-cleaning, intent, obviously, on immediately moving in.
The shock of her mother's unexpected act seems to awaken Muriel who
finally comprehends that marriage is not a wedding ceremony, but a state of
being, a commitment to love. Her final revelation comes through an admission to
her husband, after a surprising sexual encounter, obviously her first:
Muriel: I can't stay
married to you, David. I have to stop lying now.
I've told so
many lies...I don't love you.
David: I don't love you
either, but I think I could like having you
around.
Visiting her are the obnoxious "set" of the earlier part of
the film. When Muriel asks if Rhonda will join her in Sydney, her friend's
reply is immediate:
“Sorry, Mum. You know I love you,
but you drive me crazy. And you three [the high school trio], what a bunch of
cocksuckers.”
Rushing off into the horizon with her friend in a wheelchair, Muriel
finally has come understand what love is. If theirs is not quite a lesbian
relationship—they both remain heterosexual women—the love the two now share
crosses over into quite queer territory, where traditional marriage will now certainly
be out of the question.
*Waterloo
My, my, at Waterloo Napoleon did
surrender
Oh dear, and I have met my destiny
in quite a similar way
This history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won
the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you
forever more
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I
wanted to
Waterloo - Finally facing my
Waterloo
My, my, I tried to hold you back but
you were stronger
Oh dear, and now it seems my only
chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Los
Angeles, February 5, 2012
Reprinted from International Cinema Review (February 2012).
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