the right hand man ( australia , 1986 ) director : di drew screenplay : helen hodgman cast : rupert everett , hugo weaving , arthur dignam , jennifer claire , catherine mcclements after a lifetime of movie - going , and about four years of attending the seattle international film festival , i 've learned several rules which , while not absolute , should certainly be given deference to : 1 ) be wary of french comedies .
these people like jerry lewis .
2 ) ken russell is never going to grow up , no matter how long you wait .
3 )
any film where siff associate director gary tucker refers to the lead as " old pouty - lips " is probably not worth watching . 4 ) when an australian film only awards credit is best cinematography , watch out !
australia has good cinematographers up the whazoo , but since weir and miller left for foreign shores , finding a good script or director seems to be a difficult ( not impossible -- witness malcolm last year ) task .
well , i ignored rules 3 & 4 last night , and sat through a film that should be in the golden turkey awards .
it 's as if the director was trying to do one of those classic romance stories that were done in the 30 's about tragedy among the gentry , and falling in love with people below your station , and horses .
lots and lots of horses .
the film opens with a stallion mounting a mare under the direction of her ladyship , which i guess is some kind of foreshadowing , because the missus of the house wants to have her son produce an heir .
unfortunately , said son , a reckless idiot who faints at the very worst times , kills his father and loses an arm during a racing accident .
highlights include the amputation sequence ; the doctor 's daughter , who has the hots for the son , tasting his urine for a diagnosis ; their tender kissing with a window between them ( while it 's raining -- you'd think a woman studying medicine would know better ) .
the photography is good , but i kept wishing for b&w
-- everything seems sepia - colored anyway .
actually , i wished i was watching swimming to cambodia instead , but that 's life .
grade :
z . avoid like the plague , unless you 're looking for inadvertent yuks .
avoid like the plague should be in the golden turkey awards probably not worth watching