The Monkey's Mask
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
A young woman called Mickey (Abbie Cornish) reads a poem to an audience at a bar. When she leaves, she gets into an unseen person's car.
Jill Fitzpatrick (Porter) is a former police officer and a private detective who investigates missing persons. She gets a job to look for Mickey, who has been missing for two weeks. Jill goes to Mickey's university and meets her poetry professor, Diana (McGillis). Jill is quickly attracted to Diana, who is married. They meet several times for coffee, not always talking about Mickey, and go out for a drink. They eventually sleep together.
Jill hears from Mickey's parents that Mickey's body has been found. They want Jill to continue investigating because the police are "no help". Jill continues working but is distracted by her affair with Diana. One day Diana's husband catches them together, but he is not bothered.
Jill's friend Lou introduces her to the poet community. She meets two poets, Bill and Tony, both of whom are older men who were having sexual relationships with Mickey. Neither want to talk to Jill. Jill reads some of Mickey's poems that were written about Bill. Sexually explicit, Diana calls them "victim poetry" and calls Mickey a "nympho". Jill starts receiving threatening telephone messages from someone with their voice disguised. Mickey's flatmate gives Jill a video taken of Mickey in the bar the night she went missing.
One night Diana chokes Jill during sex to achieve erotic asphyxiation. Later Diana asks her if she enjoyed it. Jill says she cannot remember. Jill meets Bill who tells her that Mickey "broke" him and made him write filth. He says he has evidence connected to the case and will come to Jill's house with it. On his way to her house, Bill's car explodes and he dies.
Jill tells Diana that Bill had told her about some "evil" poems Mickey had written. Diana says they must track them down. Jill begins to wonder who else was in Mickey's life and asks Diana if Mickey ever wrote poems for her. Diana says she does not know, but that Mickey was straight, that other women were just competition to her. Jill gets upset that Diana seems unconcerned by Mickey's death, and leaves.
She goes to Brisbane to meet the poet Tony. He tells her that Mickey kept a diary, that she handed it in to Diana as a poetry assignment. Later, Jill breaks into Diana's office but the diary is gone. She now knows that Diana has lied to her. Tony's wife Barbara comes to see Jill. She tells her that Diana tampered with Bill's car and that Diana has been seeing Tony for months and is crazy about him. She told Tony that Jill seduced her.
Jill goes home to find it broken into. The video of Mickey has been destroyed. Jill finds the copy of the tape she made and watches it. She sees Diana on the tape, talking to Mickey. She then sees Mickey leave the bar with Diana and her husband.
Jill meets Diana's husband Nick. She asks him if he loves Diana. He says yes, and that Jill does too. He flirts with her and they begin to have sex. He puts his hand on her throat and she asks him if he killed Mickey. He tells her he did, and that Diana was there. It was a sex game that went wrong.
Jill takes her evidence to the police. She meets Diana who tells her that if she tells anyone what she knows, they will sue her. Meanwhile, the police look at the evidence and listen to an audio tape Jill took of Nick confessing.

Review: Dorothy Porter's book "The Monkey's Mask" was a groundbreaker on numerous levels.
Furthermore, Porter took a harboiled detective/ noir narrative and relocated it from the streets of NY or LA to seamy inner-city Sydney.
Where once we had misogynist male gumshoes(i.e. Sam Spade), Porter gave us Jill Fitzpatrick, a female detective who was also - and proudly - a lesbian.So how does it translate to film?
Very interestingly, indeed.The story (for those unfamiliar) entails Jill investigating the disappearance and subsequent murder of Mickey Norris, a young Uni student whose amateurish poetry is laced with sex and death.
Jill's investigation leads her into Sydney's incestuous poetry scene, and particularly into the bed of Diana Maitland, Jill's duplicituous lecturer.
And that's where trouble starts ...Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis are brilliant as Jill and Diana respectively.
There is more emphasis given here to the sexual side of their relationship than there was in Porter's text, and some of the sex scenes do, alas, border on fetishistic.However, I was fascinated by the way their relationship was mediated by a whole range of other factors.
There is class: Diana is an uber-wealthy city dweller who dines at Darling Harbour, while Jill is a working-class woman living in a dingy caravan on Sydney's exclusive North Shore.
In The Monkey's Mask, Diana talks down about her students (the women in her class love 'victim poetry', apparently).
When Jill tells her of Mickey's gruesome murder, Diana is more excited over her latest academic grant!In support, Marton Csokas was brilliant as Diana's 'kept man' Nick.
Then there is the talented Deborah Mailman, wasted in a thinly-sketched role as Jill's best friend (the most she is given to do is 'come onto' her friend during a time of grief, and that - as another commentator suggested - suggests a dubious link between lesbians and sexual voraciousness.
This is a link that is made absolutely concrete in Diana's character, whose evil is - in the film - largely attributed to her sexual appetite).Also, the movie's conclusion was too neat and polished, given all the ambiguity and uncertainty that preceded it.
The ending of Porter's book wasn't nearly as cut-and-dried.And what was the point of Jill's closing line: "Forget the bitch"?
Worrying stuff, indeed.Having said that,though, Lang's 'The Monkey's Mask' is an interesting contributionto the noir genre.
"The Monkey's Mask" tells of a young Aussie woman who is 99.9% lesbian and 0.1% private detective charged with finding the killer of a young woman poet.
A naive flick which has some style but precious little reason to watch or keep watching and no reason to care about any of the characters, "TMM" is mostly pretentious hogwash with people behaving in ways people only behave when they're acting in a movie.
The film is annoyingly divided into chapters, the characters are boring, poetry and lesbian themes don't ring true, and the whole flick is about as palatable as Spackle on a Saltine.
Porter is very good and her character is interesting but she's really not cut out to be a private investigator.
I did enjoy the sex scenes with Kelly McGillis who doesn't appear in films nearly enough and she's always had great beauty and even though she's probably nearing 50, she looks great.
I recommend it for Porter's performance and her scenes with McGillis..
Caught this on cable last night and I've decided that I like Susie Porter very much - she's got an incredibly expressive face (along with her adorable body, which we get to see a LOT of) and she was thoroughly convincing as the p.i. trying to solve the murder of a teenage poet while falling in love with the poet's teacher (Kelly McGillis, not quite believable in her role but she still looked good with Porter in the bathtub).
Death in Inner City Poetry Scene.
It revolves around a female PI who is investigating the disappearance of young student poet who is later found murdered.
The movie is delineated into sections much like a poem and in some ways the lead (admirably played by Susie Porter) seems to float through this world of poetry readings, steamy love trysts and threatening phone calls a player yet somehow disassociated from it all.There were however some things that annoyed me a little about the whole film and while they didnt spoil it for me they nevertheless grated on me.
Susie Porters character though solidly played nevertheless did not ring true to me.
What I mean by this is that it was almost abit forced.To me It looked as though it was saying look how comfortable we are in showing nudity etc,I suspect it was almost there to spice things up rather than being integral to the plot (to be fair a pretty hard line to draw on many occasions).I also found the whole characterisation of the murdered girl and her parents abit annoying.
The parents are cardboard carictures of what inner city intellectuals view the suburbanites (with money) as -dull boring and clueless , & the murdered girl is portrayed as some spoilt little brat from the leafy suburbs on a parent subsidised rebellion - another cliche.
I find this more than a little ironic as the subject matter of this film is likely to draw an audience (in Australia anyway) that is largely the arthouse end of the market (ie monied and educated) Anyway these points though somewhat annoying to this viewer really are only minor distractions.Overall the film is worth seeing..
McGillis really steals the show.Even in her former parts ,she was an ambiguous androgynous person (in "the accused" which gave Foster her first Oscar,she had something male in her).She literally explodes here,she mesmerizes the audience,in her part of a lit professor in love with a lesbian private investigator.The movie contains plenty of gay women sex scenes ,so be warned:it's not for all tastes .As for the plot itself it's not really exciting.The characters are not very interesting,it's a pity that the victim's parents' parts should be so underwritten.The same goes for Nick.The soundtrack is good ,including excellent songs and haunting music.But it's not enough.Without Kelly McGillis,the movie would be completely undistinguished..
Prose and poetry divided into chapter headings and dished up as an experimental film failed as a piece of entertainment.
Believe me, there are no monkeys or masks, but after due consideration they might have livened up the film.The sex scenes were passable but with little delicacy.
We hear a man addressing a lesbian investigator ...."Thank you for making love to my wife; you sure put a light in her eyes".I'd be surprised to learn if a film like this could prove to be a profitable venture.
An interesting film, since there are only a few of this kind.
Bear in mind that K.McGillis is older than the woman she's impersonating, same stands for S.Porter.
It is not a 'MUST' film to see, but I do recommend it (at least is far and away more interesting from many others of its kind)..
Titilating sex scenes make up for the disjointed story line.
While investigating a missing-person case, a female detective(Susie Porter)is sidetracked when she enters a lesbian affair with a married professor(Kelly McGillis).
Totally nude love scenes are interesting.
Porter is a more convincing lesbian than private detective.
Hmm, not bad: this film has a lot going for it, the principal asset being Susie Porter, who is assured but vulnerable, believable and very sexy in the lead.
There is a pretty good chemistry between Kelly McGillis, who is always worth watching, regardless of whether or not she's playing steamy sex scenes with another woman, and she also conveys a dangerous ambivalence, for a good reason.Some of the dialogue is pretty good, and the poetry scene is always welcome as a setting for a film (only other one I can think of is Love Jones, which is in a diametrically opposite milieu).
Unfortunately, some of the dialogue is pretty awful, mostly involving Kelly McGillis character's husband, who was completely unconvincing to me throughout.
Still, to be fair, there may have been some clues earlier, which are touched on at the end.Worth it for Susie Porter, for the whodunnit which is quite well sustained, and (let's be honest) if love scenes between two very attractive women tickle your fancy....
Poetry, murder, lesbians...
Suzie Porter is fabulous as Jill, and Kelly McGillis is wonderful (and sexy) as Diana.
The poetry is present in some of the dialogue and in the voice of Jill as a narrator.
"The Monkey's Mask" knows the rules for a sex-and-crime detective adventure, involving a private eye (brand lonely-wolf), a mysterious femme fatale and a some irritating background information.
It converts all those generic ingredients by involving a lesbian woman as the detective.
As to be expected from a Neo-Noir, the she-detective falls in love with the beautiful, but irritating female suspect.
Second, the film is probably only appealing to those who don't mind a lot of foul language, or sex between characters who try to choke and/or insult each other.
I got this drivel for £0.33.This is a novel attempt at making a movie in the same way a poet makes a poem.
The movie revolves around the disappearance of a vulgar female sluttish poet.
Instead of making a crime thriller the director has made a new wave lesbian poetry thriller.
Unfortunately this movie does not work as a lesbian romp.
Nor does it work as a crime thriller only leaving the poetry.Kelly McGillis looks old in this movie.
Also is is not the greatest actress but as this movie is dire perhaps this is not the best advert for her acting abilities.On a plus side the music is good and the cinematography is great in parts.
This had to be Kelly McGillis' best work.
I've never heard of Susie Porter before this, but after reading some reviews and seeing some of her previous work, she is an actress well on her way.
The story itself can be a little confusing at times but it all works well.
For those of you out there who like to see an actual story with a plot, some wonderfully acted intimate scenes, this is a great movie.
The acting was serious considering that Kelly McGillis is not gay, nor has she done anything like this in the past.
If You're Looking for Lesbian SEX....
Kelly McGillis is one very sexy 'older' woman, but in bed, her talents were UNUSED.
The story is good, the movie is worth renting for it.
The book (on which this movie was based on) is supposed to be groundbreaking, fusing poetry and mystery.
Judging by the few snatches of poetry allowed in the movie and some interesting dialogue, that might be true.
The movie, however, fails on so many points - maybe only the cinematography is not bad - that it's useless to enumerate them.
Even the graphic sex scenes get boring after awhile.
Most of the actors are not convincing, except for two: Abbie Cornish who plays the captivating young poet Mickey, and in a more limited way, Marton Csokas as Nick.
Otherwise, and specially as a mystery, the movie completely fails..
A nice little movie but for a flick that is supposedly a crime / mystery the plot really moves along slowly and takes some fair turns away from the mystery part at some points.
Susie Porter is quite good in the role and since this is the first time I've seen her act I was quite impressed that she managed to pull off the tough PI role quite well.
The music in this film along with the cinematography is a very nice touch to the rest of the story and I really liked the usage of different shots to get the attention of the viewer and show them something new.
The plot itself was alright, not the greatest mystery movie I have seen but alright, but then again most people will probably not remember the story as well as the interesting characters it presents.
The whole movie has a `independent / student film' feeling to it which I really like so I would have to recommend this movie for anyone who is slightly bored of the fast paced mystery films which focus more on cheap thrills rather then character development ( ala Along Came a Spider )..
Just did not like this movie, or anything about it.
I don't mean to be rude but Susie Porter is utterly miscast and completely unbelievable as a "private detective" (c'mon).
She is also physically repulsive (makes me wonder how she ever made it in acting) literally hard to watch on film.
Mcgillis' acting performance (and looks) are slightly better but I think in truth she made this film just to be controversial and maybe revive her dying career.
Sex scenes are also poor and the films climax plain lame.
A movie just full of ugly lesbians and no backbone.Give it a miss!!.
A B-movie erotic lesbian thriller..
This Australian oddity - or piece of crap, depending how one chooses to look at it - is basically B-level trash disguised as a philosophical art detective story, about a lesbian version of Philip Marlowe(!) trying to solve a murder.
Of course, like Bogey, she gets involved with a woman who is in some way connected to the case.
The difference is that Bogey doesn't have more sex than he investigates - it's a wonder Susan Porter ever gets to the core of the case, what with her having lesbian sex every five minutes; the movie has more sex scenes than any "regular" film I've seen in quite a while.
But I don't mind: Susan Porter has a terrific pair of breasts and is kind of charismatic in a sort-of semi-lipstick-lesbian way.
From big-budget Hollywood hits to erotic B-movie Australian detective stories!
And God knows she hasn't aged well The movie is based on a woman's novel, directed by a woman, and starring two women; obviously the first two are lesbian, and perhaps even Susan Porter.
It's funny to watch the Aborigine lesbian grope Porter in a library: however, not nearly as absurd as when the guy from "Lord Of The Rings" gropes her only minutes later: they actually show his penis - in erection  which made me think that perhaps this is not so much a B-movie but a Z-movie.
What irony: we are shown an erect penis in a lesbian-filled sex movie!
Talking to a family friend about having greatly enjoyed the 2014 Aussie Neo-Noir film The Reckoning,I started to get told about an Aussie Noir title which he had been meaning to pick up for ages.Taking a look at Amazon Uk,I was happy to see a DVD of the movie being sold at a very cheap price,which led to me getting ready to wear the monkey's mask.The plot:Retiring from the police force, Jill Fitzpatrick decides to become a private detective.
Receiving a call from out of the blue,Fitzpatrick is asked by the parents of Mickey Norris if she can track down their daughter,due to Norris having been missing for 2 weeks.Visiting the last place that Mickey was seen,Fitzpatrick discovers that Norris was involved in underground poetry groups.Getting hold of Noirris poems,Fitzpatrick is disturbed to find that most of the poems involve violent sexual imagery.Tracking down Norris poet teacher Professor Diana Maitland,Fitzpatrick sets her sights on uncovering the meaning behind Norris poems,but soon finds herself writing sonnets for femme fatale Maitland,who seems to have her eyes set on writing the final verse.View on the film:Adapting Dorothy Porter's "poems novel" (!),the screenplay by Anne Kennedy gives the title a distinctive,quirky vibe,thanks to Kennedy playing around with the traditional amateur male investigator role of Film Noirs,and also offering a number of tantalising genre crashes,which leads to the movie switching from gritty Neo-Noir,to sharp lesbian Drama.Whilst Kennedy does well at offering a unique take on Film Noir,the dialogue sadly takes the sheen off the movie,due to it having a blunt feel which infects the movie with an atmosphere of Kennedy being desperate to make the dialogue as harsh as possible,which leads to it being at odds with the intelligent outline that Kennedy has given Fitzpatrick.Being one of the few women to have directed a Neo-Noir, Samantha Lang shows Fitzpatrick's (played by a very good Susie Porter,who also appears naked in the movie)growing attraction towards Professor Diana Maitland (played by a terrifically brittle Kelly McGillis) in an eye-catching manner,by making the striking sex scenes lose clarity,as Fitzpatrick finds herself getting steamy for Maitland.Making glass a prominent feature of the film,Lang shows an impressively subtle skill in using the glass to reflect clues towards Fitzpatrick,which leads to Lang slowly pushing the glass to the front of the screen,and smashing it in a deeply stylised manner,as Fitzpatrick's realises that she has uncovered missing Norris lost verse..
Good if You like soft-porn for women, bad if You want movie-quality and ugly if You love detective-stories ....
Pretending to be open-minded is easy nowadays - see a lousy movie with some unhetero-sexual scenes in and You're in with the IN-crowd ...
("Married with Bundy" !) This is one of a bunch of movies trying to "normalize" homosexuality and in this lesbian case show how sickening and dangerous men are.
It's very simple - Jill says to herself (like a true private dick, erh, I mean dyke) that she should find another woman and forget the love for Diana that still lingered on after she broke up ...
The Monkey's Mask is not a great film.
The lesbian love between Jill and Diana is very well interpreted by both Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis (a bit over-aged for nude scenes).
Even though the only remarkable detail which worth the vision of the movie is the superb erected penis showed by Marton Csokas at the end (almost) of the film.
She has directed sex scenes with authentic good taste.
Marton Csokas, here, is the husband of Poetry professor Diana/McGillis.