Directed by Sam Garbarski
Marianne Faithfull is probably best remembered for her singing career that peaked with her 1979 album ‘Broken English’. She is also famous for her drug-addled rock chick years, and at sixty years of age, she continues to take risks. She is unforgettable as a middle-class middle-aged grandmother who is driven by desperation in Sam Garbarski’s ‘non-politically correct romantic tragicomedy’ Irina Palm.
Married at a young age, Maggie hasn’t had much of a life. The frumpy widow plays bridge and spends time with her son Tom (Kevin Bishop) and his family. Her life changes when thousands of pounds are needed to send her only grandchild Olly (Corey Burke) to Australia for a life-saving operation. Maggie has already sold her home to pay for medical expenses and the people at the employment agency can’t offer her anything. Walking through London’s Soho district, she sees that Sexy World requires a hostess and her life makes an unexpected detour.
It is up to the manager of the seedy underground club Miki (Miki Manojlovic) to explain to Maggie that, as a hostess, she would not be expected to serve cups of tea. He is, however, impressed by her soft hands, and Maggie has to question her scruples and work out what she would do to save someone she loves. Despite being very familiar with Soho from her days with ‘Sister Morphine’, this was a very new world for Faithfull as her character Maggie proves that she is not so old and useless after all.
Irina Palm screens at Somerville Auditorium (UWA) March 3-9 and Joondalup Pines (ECU) March 10-16. Gates open at 6.30pm with the film starting at 8.30pm.
