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 "Sharp Objects" actress Eliza Scanlen plays Milla, who while
undergoing chemotherapy following a relapse falls in love with
small-time drug dealer Moses.
Her parents disapprove of Moses but slowly realize he is helping
Milla through her struggles.
The movie, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on
Wednesday, is an intimate portrait of a family, showing their
weaknesses, reliance on self-medication and coping mechanisms.
Based on the play by Australian playwright and actress Rita
Kalnejais, the storyline is peppered with laugh-out loud moments
even in the darkest of times.
"With my design team, we talked so much about how in every frame
we wanted to have an element of humor if it was a heavy scene or
an element of drama if it was a humorous scene," Murphy, who has
long worked in theater, told a news conference.
Milla, who dons various wigs including a blue cropped look,
wants to enjoys the thrills of first-time love.
"We found a way for the quirkiness of Milla to exist within the
darkness of the story," Scanlen said.
She added she thought "Babyteeth" would appeal to younger
audiences, describing Milla as the "most mature" of all the
characters.
"She's negotiating with three very distinct personalities and
more often than not when you are at that age and you're on the
brink of womanhood you are trying to navigate your parents who
are afraid to let go," she said.
"Rogue One" and "Captain Marvel" actor Ben Mendelsohn, who plays
Milla's father, described the script as "a beautiful rendering
of the finest virtues of Australia".
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"LIFE-AFFIRMING STORY"
"It's a very powerful love story, and a very life-affirming story by
a bunch of pretty contemporary, damaged, messy people," he said,
"That's a real joy. It's an incredibly beautiful piece, it makes me
want to cry just talking about this film."
Asked about mixing humor and pain in the script, Kalnejais recounted
losing a friend in her 20s.
"I didn't set out to write this story, it sort of just bubbled out
of me," she said.
"I guess my experience is that when people are in grief or having a
really intense time they're so funny - like you have to be funny to
get through it and it kind of brings you closer together."
Murphy is one of just two female directors out of a total 21
competing for the festival's Golden Lion Prize.
Asked about the gender disparity in the film industry, she said:
"It's a real struggle always having to answer questions about being
a female filmmaker.
"I feel like it takes away from the artistry of what we're trying to
do... and it also continues the mythology of the great male director
and his poetic process and we're constantly having to talk about the
struggle and the hardship."
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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