Babyteeth: Universal Pictures
Babyteeth, which dropped onto Netflix UK earlier this year is the feature film debut of Australian director Shannon Murphy who has already had her hand in an impressive directorial career in television, including two episodes of the third season of Killing Eve. Variety was right to name Murphy as one of the “10 directors to watch in 2020” as Babyteeth will leave you with an appetite for more of the director’s work. The film centres on Milla, played skilfully by Eliza Scanlen (Little Women), a terminally ill teenager who meets a slightly older drug-addicted Moses (Toby Wallace) at a train station one day. What could have been a fleeting encounter turns into a complex romance, much to the initial dismay of Milla’s parents, Anna (Essie Davis) and Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) who trip and stumble through Milla’s illness.
Despite having similar narrative and themes, the film avoids the tropes of the recent terminally ill teen romance genre and gives audiences a much more mature viewing. We never see Milla in a doctor’s office or undergoing any treatment, but the devastation of her illness is always there in careful movements and worried glances. For Milla, the tokens of adolescence cannot be enjoyed in the same way. Trying on the “perfect” dress bought by her mum for a school dance leads to the discovery of a newly formed lump, and a rebellious sneak out of her bedroom window one evening ends with Milla being hospitalised.
Murphy has resisted making Milla and Moses’ relationship the sole centre of attention and instead gives her mother and father - a classical musician and psychiatrist respectively - lively roles in the film. The mother-daughter relationship is arguably the most interesting one explored as the two women are the central force of the film. This is reinforced by the soundtrack which seamlessly flows between the classical music associated with Anna and the indie pop which accompanies Milla’s youth. The mother and daughter are bonded by music throughout the film as Anna is keen for Milla to inherent her musical talents. At Milla’s seventeenth birthday, they finally come together to play a piece after constant bickering has interrupted their previous attempts to play together. It is one the most poignant moments in the film as Anna plays the piano and Milla plays the violin while Henry and Moses look on at the two women. The recital is cut short by their neighbour attempting to quietly sneak off after realising she is going into labour. Milla passes her violin on to a young boy who has been taken under the wing of her violin teacher. It is the last time we see her hold the instrument in the film.
Babyteeth succeeds in giving its characters the space to be complex. Already in the process of grieving Milla’s inevitable death, her parents react in nuanced and inexplainable ways. Henry becomes closed off and briefly finds himself drawn to their heavily pregnant neighbour. Anna sways back and forth from taking a concoction of prescription drugs. Likewise, where a character like Moses, who even attempts to steal from the family for drugs, could have been a stereotyped figure, he is fleshed out in the presence of Milla who calls out her parents for “pigeonholing” him.
The result is that Babyteeth is a memorable watch. It is full of both frustration and tender moments between family members who are suffering. Yet, it manages to avoid deliberate tear-jerking clichés. The nuanced performances by the leading actors, beautiful set design and cinematography certainly make Babyteeth an early must-watch in 2021.
By Rosie Beattie
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