There’s a lot to be said for films that wear their heart on their sleeve; plenty of the most affecting and memorable titles in cinema are the work of filmmakers with an intensely personal vision. Writer-director Priscilla Cameron (making her feature debut here) certainly seems to be coming straight from the heart with The Butterfly Tree. Dedicated to the memory of a recently deceased friend, it’s a lovingly crafted blend of coming of age drama and paean to loss, with fantastical overtones, and something of a retro aesthetic. Alas, when it all comes totally from the heart at the expense of the head, this can obviously result in something imbalanced which winds up unsatisfactory on both levels; and so it is that, while The Butterfly Tree is frequently lovely to look at and often tugs on the heartstrings, scratch the surface and there’s a whole lot about it that feels off.
Al (Ewen Leslie) and Fin (Ed Oxenbould, who may be familiar to horror fans for The Visit and Better Watch Out) are father and son, living alone in a quiet, largely rural Australian town. Some time earlier Fin’s mother died, and while it’s not something they talk about, it’s clear that the loss has had a serious impact on both of them. While Al numbs the pain by having an illicit affair with one of his community college students, Shelley (Sophie Lowe), the teenage Fin has various childlike rituals, maintaining a shrine to his mother’s memory beneath a tree, and collecting butterflies. Of course, Fin’s not quite the child he once was, and finds a variety of feelings – both maternal yearning, and unfamiliar sexual longing – when he meets Evelyn (Melissa George), the free-spirited new owner of a nearby flower shop. Despite the obvious age gap, a close friendship quickly develops between the two, but Fin finds this threatened once he realises that his father has also become acquainted with Evelyn. The ensuing conflict that builds between father and son, further complicated by Al’s rule-breaking relationship with Shelley, soon brings to a head tensions that have been hidden since their loss. However, Evelyn has some secret troubles of her own which come to significantly impact proceedings.
As stated, The Butterfly Tree is very striking visually, often utilising surreal and dreamlike imagery. This alone will doubtless win the film plenty of admirers, particularly amongst those with a taste for 50s/60s vintage chic. One key aspect of the film, though it’s never really delved into in the narrative, is Evelyn’s past life as a burlesque performer, evidence of which we see from her posters, costumes, and to an extent in her day-to-day retro dress sense. It’s perhaps curious that director Cameron presents this aesthetic – typically approached as self-consciously camp/kitsch – in an almost totally straight-faced and serious manner. Given that burlesque’s sense of humour is key to its appeal, I can’t help feeling this treatment of it perhaps misses the point a bit.
Things feel even more off when it comes to plot and character. Melissa George has done some good work over the years, primarily in her many horror/genre roles, and she is of course a very beautiful woman, but I’m honestly not sure if she has quite the charisma and gravitas the role of Evelyn requires. The character, and indeed much of the film overall, feels reminiscent of Monica Bellucci’s Malèna; much of the film’s dreamlike sequences are dedicated to exploring the fantasies she inspires in a lovestruck boy, and it seems it is her cross to bear that she becomes the fixation of every man she encounters. However, unlike Malèna, Evelyn seems to directly encourage these feelings in Fin, playing with the affections of a clearly underage child in a manner that any adult should be well aware is inappropriate. Even so, she’s also massively judgemental when she learns of Al’s relationship with Shelley; who, although her age is never specified, certainly appears to be adult. Indeed, the fact that Al is screwing his student between classes begs the question of just what Fin is doing, considering he’s blatantly high school age, but never seems to go to school… okay, it’s possible I’m nitpicking now, but lapses in logic like this do tend to undermine any story. And this is to say nothing of a final act revelation which, in order to avoid spoilers, I won’t get into; but its reveal does beg some questions about much of what passed beforehand.
As first features go, The Butterfly Tree certainly goes some way to announcing Priscilla Cameron as a filmmaker of vision, and I certainly hope the writer-director goes on to bigger and better things. It may well be that, if approached first and foremost from an emotional mindset, the film may well have the desired effect on much of the audience. However, I strongly suspect it’s liable to polarise those who see it, and while I’m not blind to its strengths and its beauty, to my mind there’s just too much about it that doesn’t work.
The Butterfly Tree is in limited cinemas in UK and Ireland now, from Eureka Entertainment.