COSI (1996)
Sunburnt Screens #15
Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: M
Duration: 101 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Mark Joffe
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Toni Collette, Pamela Rabe, Jacki Weaver, Paul Chubb, David Wenham, Colin Hay, Rachel Griffiths, Aden Young, Colin Friels
The Mark Joffe (Spotswood) directed Australian comedy-drama Cosi (1996), which is loosely based on screenwriter Louis Nowra's (Heaven's Burning) own bizarre experience producing Trial by Jury at a mental hospital, Ben Mendelsohn (The Outsider) stars as Lewis Riley, an unemployed, down-on-his-luck young man who applies for a position as a drama teacher at a mental hospital. He gets the job and finds himself directing a production of the Mozart opera Cosi Fan Tutte with a cast full of mental patients from a variety of walks of life and varying degrees of mental health issues
The idea to perform the challenging Italian opera comes from boisterous patient Roy (Barry Otto, Howling III), who spearheads the audition process in a fun and quite lunatic audition montage that introduces the main characters. With he cast chosen we end up with kind-hearted junkie Julie (Toni Collette, Hereditary), the quite stiff Ruth (Pamela Rabe), the spunky and always ready for a fight Cherry (Jacki Weaver, Picnic At Hanging Rock), the four-eyed stutterer
Henry (Paul Chubb, The Night, The Prowler) and naughty fire-bug Doug (David Wenham, No Escape), plus the stubborn musical director is Zac (Colin Hay, Heaven's Burning). The outright enthusiasm of Roy infects the group, despite the fact that he constantly attacks Lewis' style of stage direction (or lack thereof) at every turn, and and that no one speaks Italian or seems to be able to carry a proper tune, with the exception of a secret songbird in their midst.
As Lewis sets about planning the production his relationship with his law-student girlfriend Lucy (Rachel Griffiths, who was so good in HBO's Six Feet Under) mirrors the opera's themes, as his director "friend" Nick (Aden Young, I, Frankenstein) takes it upon himself to test Lucy's fidelity, and Lewis begins to feel pangs of romanticism for the soulful junkie Julie. It's also great to see Colin Friels (Dingo) as an administrator at the mental hospital that serves as both antagonist against Lewis and his ramshackle
production and a reluctant supporter of the endeavor.
Its a pretty terrific ensemble cast and is quite charming in the way that it deftly balances mental health and relationship drama with the lunatic comedy, managing to drop in some social commentary about 90's mental health issues and mental health stigmas, but also being quite funny and warm hearted about the situation at hand without punching down.
Audio/Video: Cosi (1996) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment as part of their Sunburnt Screens line-up celebrating Australian cinema. It's presented in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1) with uncompressed English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The image looks quite nice, there's a bit of dirt and debris in a few scenes but overall it's a sharp, vibrant and pleasing HD image.
Special features include new interview with Richard Brennan
and Louis Nowra, plus an audio-only Excerpt of Oral History with Film Buff Paul Harris and Richard Brennan, and finished up with a Stills Gallery. The single-disc arrives in an oversized clear keepcase with a reversible sleeve of artwork with one side having the film rating logo on the front cover while the other does not. The reversible side also features another panel of artwork for the film on the back of the wrap.
Special Features:
- NEW! Interview with Richard Brennan (12 min)
- NEW! Interview with Louis Nowra (25 min)
- Excerpt of Oral History with Film Buff Paul Harris and Richard Brennan (22 min)
- Stills Gallery (4 min)
This is a film I had not heard of previously, but the inclusion of Ben Mendelsohn and Toni Collette, both of who are huge stars now, was an easy in for me; but I fell in love with the whole ensemble cast from the get-go. My favorite character is Barry Otto as the manic and ever optimistic curmudgeon Roy, he chews the scenery but also has some wonderful emotional moments that give the film it's heart. I've been a huge fan of Umbrella Entertainment's Sunburnt Screens line-up so far, and this might be my favorite film discovery that it's offered up. This comes highly recommended to fans of not only Mendelsohn and Collette, but fans of ensemble comedies and films about underdogs, a top-notch flick.
