Age of Consent

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Mar 8, 2019 A look at a time gone by and age of innocence with beautiful scenery of the Queensland reef. Helen Mirren stunning.Very watchable See more

George L Oct 10, 2017 Reviewed 10.10.17. Michael Powell directed one of my all-time favorite movies, Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death). That movie is everything this movie is not. It was original, charming and romantic. Age of Consent is boring, distasteful and skeevy. I get that in 1969 a joke about a man being raped, or a grandpa aged leading man having a teenage love interest, was socially acceptable in some circles. And for entertainment's sake, that could be looked past, if the movie had anything else to offer. But the supporting roles are all horribly overacted caricatures. The plot is paper thin. The only interest is watching Helen Mirren in her first role. But even that wears thin as they apparently thought showing her breasts through a wet shirt in practically every scene was her greatest asset. Glad she proved them wrong over her distinguished career. All this movie proved is even talented directors can misfire, and that people could be particularly gross in 1969. Seems one star is the lowest rating, so let's say a 1/2 star each for the cute dog, and the appealing setting. See more

Rey S Sep 6, 2017 Director Michael Powell's final film follows on the heels of his previous Australian venture (They're a Weird Mob, 1966) moving from Sydney up to Brisbane and North Queensland. It stars James Mason (with tenuous accent) as an Australian painter who leaves New York to return to his roots on a remote tropical island near the Great Barrier Reef. Although he's burnt out, the relaxed environment starts to bring back his creative streak. A cheeky teenager (played by young Helen Mirren) soon becomes his muse; Mirren spends a lot of the movie in a state of undress as a result. This is a bit jarring if you only know her from Prime Suspect and her late career superstardom (possibly Calendar Girls, 2006, which I haven't seen, brings things full circle). Similarly to Weird Mob, there's a bit of comic relief here as well, poking fun at Aussie stereotypes and slang, when Mason's insufferable friend Nat Kelly (Jack MacGowran) comes to visit and gets into trouble. But overall the tone is laid back, as if the gentle rhythm of the waves was setting the pace of the picture. Plenty of shots of the lush locations and underwater photography of the reef do not disappoint. Mason ultimately gets his mojo back, although the May-September romance that eventuates does have an ick factor. The paintings on display don't strike me as particularly notable but an early shot of a Sidney Nolan artbook suggests that Powell does have better taste. It's a shame (after his masterworks with Pressburger) that his career ground completely to a halt after this, due to lack of funding, aged 64. See more

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Age of Consent

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