'Her life may be a mess, but Grace Pudel (Snook, Succession; Predestination, MIFF 2014) does derive pleasure from three things: her snail collection, romance novels and her guinea pigs. As children, she and twin brother Gilbert (Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog; Slow West) eked out a modest existence with their paraplegic father, a has-been performer gripped by alcoholism and grief after their mother’s death. When he, too, passes away, the siblings are split up by child services: Grace is sent to Canberra, and Gilbert, to Perth. Isolated and depressed, Grace retreats behind a carapace – much like her snails – and fills her emotional void through compulsive hoarding. That is, until she finds a fourth source of joy: a friendship with outrageous octogenarian Pinky (Weaver, Animal Kingdom; Silver Linings Playbook).'
Source: Melbourne International Film Festival.
