Film Review: Introducing the Dwights

Australian films are so different from Hollywood films and are able to combine comedy and pathos in a most wonderful way. The dysfunctional Dwight family will keep you discussing the film well after the final curtain. This film cleverly and creatively deals with one family’s relationships. It centers on the mother, Jean Dwight played to perfection by Brenda. Bleythn. She is a ‘want to be’ singer and entertainer. We learn that she had moved from England to Australia to be with her husband John. He also had been an entertainer but had given it up to become a security guard. They are divorced but he does keep in touch with their sons. Poor Mom will not give up. She wears silly bright inappropriate clothes and thinks she can entertain. It is so pathetic and funny at the same time. She has a beautiful smile and tries to use her charm to entertain. Her act is raunchy and bad. She plays at low level casinos and is not about to make it big. She tries to be a good mother to her two boys but does a bad job in this role as well. Mark has a handicap due to a birth problem. Mother smothers him at times and we almost feel as if she needs his handicap because it gives her a sense of power over him. Tim is developing into a self sufficient man. He helps transport his mother to and from her gigs. He feeds into her vanity. At the same time he is struggling to become himself. The charming young Jill seduces Tim and so begins the struggle for Tim to pull away from his mother’s power. Mom does not like Jill and probably sees her as a rival. There are also some very touching scenes. I loved the wedding scene with Tim and Jill. You sense that they have a chance together. You also feel the love that Mom has for her son and hope that she will grow into the relationship with her new daughter-in-law.
These are sad real people. The story is believable and well told. It is almost haunting because the characters stay with. You find yourself laughing at the incidents and then realize that it is very sad. Unfulfilled desires can make for a painful experience and they are so well portrayed by the mother. We watch Tim becoming sexually active and we feel his anxiety and desire. You may not want the Dwights as neighbors but you will enjoy meeting them.