Mountain FogRETROSPECT: THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND (1976)
November 3rd 2009 07:42
Simon Burke as Tom in The Devil's Playground
It sometimes seems a monumental risk for a first-time feature-maker to tackle a subject too close to his or her own personal experience. A reverence for the material can dominate the screenplay, muddying the narrative and crippling the final product.
But given the benefit of hindsight provided by Fred Schepisi's impressive body of work, perhaps it's no surprise he used his time spent in Catholic seminary as an early teenager to inform his first feature rather than driving it into the ground. Indeed, one of the great strengths of The Devil’s Playground turns out to be a careful accuracy driven by obvious familiarity, but a young Schepisi knew his stuff and built a film first and memento to his childhood second, the ordered grounds of the seminary providing an opportunity to investigate community, Catholicism, and the importance of truly choosing your own oath in life.
At the centre of the story is the 13-year old Tom (Simon Burke), a serious, likable young boy training for the priesthood at a Catholic seminary. It's 1953, Vatican II is still ten years away, and the small community of brothers and students are caught on the cusp of the brave new world. Tom's calling for the Church seems more genuine than many of his classmates, but it's also complicated by his battle to rationalise the sinful thoughts that pry their way into a young and active mind.
Tom's personal battle isn't the only one taking place on the seminary's grounds, though. The film's secondary focus is on the brothers themselves and while each to a certain extent grapples with the complications of their calling, at opposite ends of the spectrum sit Brothers Francine and Victor. Francine (Arthur Dingham) is severe in his pursuit to eradicate the undisciplined mind, walking the halls like a harbinger of old-fashioned Catholic fire and brimstone. Victor (Nick Tate) on the other hand is the impending voice of the Second Vatican Council, disagreeing with the harsh treatment inflicted against the boys' bodies and minds, encouraging them when he can to seek their own path in life.
It's here that the film quaintly shows its age. The brothers who run the seminary aren't cardboard cut out nasties, nor are they demented abusers looking to inflict pain on the boys for their own gratification. The brothers in Schepisi's screenplay are instead delicately human, a microcosm of the faith itself, full of internal conflict just like their young pupils.
How Brothers Francine and Victor deal with their repressed weaknesses is vastly different and makes up the majority of both characters’ development, their ultimate fates saying plenty about Schepisi’s views regarding the 20th century direction of the faith.
With the negative press the Catholic Church endures in modern times its refreshing to see such a careful rendering of robbed authority figures, and it’s the flowing scenes in the brothers’ common room that make up a large part of the film’s enjoyment.
Next to this sterling material, Tom’s story can’t help but feel a little undercooked at times, as if Schepisi is operating too much on internal information. Still, there are some great scenes, particularly those with fellow student and confidant, Fitz (John Diedrich), and others where a special friendship is mapped with the elderly and cheekily subversive Brother Sebastian (beautifully played by Charles McCallum).
Nick Tate is excellent as Brother Victor in The Devil's Playground
They’re weighed against the visits of Father Marshall (Tom Keneally), who is the demented authority of the old Church personified: kind-hearted and full of dad jokes in private, he cascades with outrageous, guilt-stirring homilies once on the pulpit. It’s a turn of character that quietly shocks both the pupils and their teachers.
Technically, The Devil’s Playground is a minor masterpiece, considering its budget of $300,000. Largely shot on location, Ian Baker’s cinematography is crisply captured and beautifully lit, the long, moving single takes telling in their subtlety. Brian Kavanagh’s editing is likewise spot-on, a scene where two young pupils are discussing the ins and outs of puberty being a great example, their embarrassment highlighted by a frequent cutting to and from their squirming limbs.
At the centre though is Schepisi, and every setup displays his typical thoughtfulness. His influence also shines through in the performance of Simon Burke: the young actor is exceptional as Tom, his performance barely seeming an act at all. And the older players offer plenty of support, with the nuanced Tate and mournfully expressive Digham being particularly excellent.
Schepisi would go on to make better films – his next effort, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith securing his international reputation – but its in the focussed frames of The Devil’s Playground that you see the origins of this considered yet supremely talented filmmaker. Maybe not quite the Australian classic that it’s often purported to be, The Devil’s Playground is nevertheless well worth checking out.
The Devil’s Playground is part of the Australian Cinema Collection Volume I now available on DVD from Umbrella Entertainment
Check out the trailer below:
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
The Devils Playground and Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith both made my post on John Doe's Top 23 Australian Films. Need I say more.
If your curious you can check out the post HERE
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Top 23?! Will definitely be taking a look at your list ASAP!