Underlying Holy Smoke is an analysis of the conflict between religious
and atheist ideology - the gulf between faith and reason.
A young working-class Australian, played confidently by Kate Winslet,
joins a mystical cult while traveling in India. Her mum lures
her back to Australia and hires an American "exit" specialist
(Harvey Keitel) to destroy her faith. But an unexpected relationship
between the two develops as the girl turns his deprogramming methods
against him.
The stage is now set for a number of dramatic conflicts. Is the
crass world Keitel is trying to bring Winslet back to any better
than the supposed dreamworld of her religious life - and any more
"real"? Is the deprogramming system simply an exercise
in psycho-sexual domination?
But unfortunately an indecisive script, by director Jane Campion
and her sister Anna, badly bodges the job. Holy Smoke careers
between sarcastic comedy and drama, something not helped by the
decision to write all the supporting characters as joke caricatures.
Even worse, the film backs away from the issues - both philosophical
and sexual - that it raises. For instance, a powerful middle section
sees Winslet use Keitel's sexual insecurites to strip him of his
faith in himself, thus mirrorring his own religious deprogramming
technique. And once she has broken him down, we see that Keitel
is just as manipulative and self-interested as he claims the Indian
guru to be. But this thread is lost when a misjudged romantic
element is brought to the fore, leading to a number of melodramatic
and over-played moments which become increasingly risible as the
film progresses.
Keitel's sly portrayal lacks the weight needed to give his character
credibility, and it's left to Winslet to anchor the film. To her credit, she
plays some tough scenes - she has to urinate in front of Keitel
before having sex with him, for instance - with maturity.
Holy Smoke would probably have succeeded if it had reversed current
scriptwriting theory and spent more time telling than showing.
Most of the problems arise when Campion is forced to find ways
of externalising her characters' wracked emotions - something
that ultimately results in the ludicrous spectacle of Keitel storming
accross the Australian outback in drag. The subject cries out
for the dialogue-driven spiritual analysis of a film like Guiseppe
Tornatore's A Pure Formality (1994).
Reviewed by Richard James Havis
See what other kamera.co.uk readers thought about this film
