The Monkey's Mask (2000) User Reviews

Good performance helps so-so script

[rosscinema · 6/10 · 1 January 2003]

I did enjoy The Monkey's Mask but lets face it, this script needed some more re-writing. Porter is very good and her character is interesting but she's really not cut out to be a private investigator. When she announces to someone that she's a PI working on the case you expect some of the characters to brush her aside and say "Beat it"! The chapter element of the film is really not needed. This film has no chapters. It's not that long of a film and it flows nicely so it was pointless to have it at all. I did enjoy the sex scenes with Kelly McGillis who doesn't appear in films nearly enough and she's always had great beauty and even though she's probably nearing 50, she looks great. I'm not buying the attraction of the two for each other but the nudity is pretty daring and I enjoyed the audacity of that part of the film. The whole way that she solves the case is not convincing and it looks like anyone could have figured it out. Not a bad little independent film from Australia. I recommend it for Porter's performance and her scenes with McGillis.

Stylish junk

[=G= · 4/10 · 5 October 2002]

"The Monkey's Mask" tells of a young Aussie woman who is 99.9% lesbian and 0.1% private detective charged with finding the killer of a young woman poet. A naive flick which has some style but precious little reason to watch or keep watching and no reason to care about any of the characters, "TMM" is mostly pretentious hogwash with people behaving in ways people only behave when they're acting in a movie. The film is annoyingly divided into chapters, the characters are boring, poetry and lesbian themes don't ring true, and the whole flick is about as palatable as Spackle on a Saltine. Passable stuff not worth the time. (C-)

The smell of sex and violence.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 16 May 2003]

Titilating sex scenes make up for the disjointed story line. While investigating a missing-person case, a female detective(Susie Porter)is sidetracked when she enters a lesbian affair with a married professor(Kelly McGillis). Totally nude love scenes are interesting. Porter is a more convincing lesbian than private detective. And it is nice to see McGillis sans clothing. Also in the cast are:Abbie Cornish, Jean-Pierre Mignon and Marton Csokas. Cornish is very alluring and demands attention through her character's poetry. Strong sexual content and graphic dialogue are a plus for this crime drama.

AUSTRALIAN NOIR

[jay_thompson680 · 29 February 2004]

Dorothy Porter's book "The Monkey's Mask" was a groundbreaker on numerous levels. The text was a novel constructed from poetic verse ("is it a novel or a bloody long poem"? one commentator asked). Furthermore, Porter took a harboiled detective/ noir narrative and relocated it from the streets of NY or LA to seamy inner-city Sydney. Where once we had misogynist male gumshoes(i.e. Sam Spade), Porter gave us Jill Fitzpatrick, a female detective who was also - and proudly - a lesbian.

So how does it translate to film? Very interestingly, indeed.

The story (for those unfamiliar) entails Jill investigating the disappearance and subsequent murder of Mickey Norris, a young Uni student whose amateurish poetry is laced with sex and death. Jill's investigation leads her into Sydney's incestuous poetry scene, and particularly into the bed of Diana Maitland, Jill's duplicituous lecturer. And that's where trouble starts ...

Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis are brilliant as Jill and Diana respectively. There is more emphasis given here to the sexual side of their relationship than there was in Porter's text, and some of the sex scenes do, alas, border on fetishistic.

However, I was fascinated by the way their relationship was mediated by a whole range of other factors. There is class: Diana is an uber-wealthy city dweller who dines at Darling Harbour, while Jill is a working-class woman living in a dingy caravan on Sydney's exclusive North Shore. Also, Diana is entwined in two seedy 'scenes': the poetry world, and the world of English/cultural studies academia. The seamy, incestuous, inhumane side of academia has been explored in films as diverse as Hitchcock's 'Rope' (which TMM bears a resemblance to stylistically- and that also had homosexuality as a theme) to the 1970s horror film 'Bloodsuckers' (an appropriate title for Diana). In The Monkey's Mask, Diana talks down about her students (the women in her class love 'victim poetry', apparently). When Jill tells her of Mickey's gruesome murder, Diana is more excited over her latest academic grant!

In support, Marton Csokas was brilliant as Diana's 'kept man' Nick. He reminded me of Vincent Price's 'kept man'/ playboy in the 1944 noir classic 'Laura'. Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast are under-used. As Jill's father, Chris Winwood is given little to do bar totter around with a whisky bottle. Then there is the talented Deborah Mailman, wasted in a thinly-sketched role as Jill's best friend (the most she is given to do is 'come onto' her friend during a time of grief, and that - as another commentator suggested - suggests a dubious link between lesbians and sexual voraciousness. This is a link that is made absolutely concrete in Diana's character, whose evil is - in the film - largely attributed to her sexual appetite).

Also, the movie's conclusion was too neat and polished, given all the ambiguity and uncertainty that preceded it. The ending of Porter's book wasn't nearly as cut-and-dried.

And what was the point of Jill's closing line: "Forget the bitch"? Porter didn't mention that. Was its inclusion to comfort the (conservative, hetero, etc) viewer that the dangerous dyke relationship is over, and we can all sleep nice and easy. Worrying stuff, indeed.

Having said that,though, Lang's 'The Monkey's Mask' is an interesting contributionto the noir genre. Stylish and sensual, with some great chemistry between the leads, it is intelligent entertainment that deserves a look.

I like Porter

[Rogue-32 · 4/10 · 8 August 2003]

Caught this on cable last night and I've decided that I like Susie Porter very much - she's got an incredibly expressive face (along with her adorable body, which we get to see a LOT of) and she was thoroughly convincing as the p.i. trying to solve the murder of a teenage poet while falling in love with the poet's teacher (Kelly McGillis, not quite believable in her role but she still looked good with Porter in the bathtub). Not very well-written or directed either - it's too long, too self-conscious and too convoluted - but it does have a certain style. . .and it DOES have the very appealing and watchable Porter.

Pseudo-intellectual drivel

[festermatt · 3/10 · 24 December 2002]

This is supposed to be a mystery with erotic undertones. It failed. The mystery is so shallow that no one cares who killed the angry, easy, young poet. The lesbian undertones don't work, the voiceovers don't work and the only thing that I enjoyed was some of the cinematography. Boring movie disguised as intellectual, but with nothing smart to say.

Best to leave it in book form

[raymond-15 · 5/10 · 27 February 2008]

I could not find anything interesting in this film. Prose and poetry divided into chapter headings and dished up as an experimental film failed as a piece of entertainment. Let it be a lesson to other film makers.

Don't be misled by the title. The writer chose the title before she wrote the book because she rather liked the Japanese haiku of that name. Believe me, there are no monkeys or masks, but after due consideration they might have livened up the film.

The sex scenes were passable but with little delicacy. The writer said she had hoped for a more grubby presentation of those scenes. I could not see much point in the scene where the woman walks into a room with her panties off. Do lesbians like to advertise their pubic hair? On the positive side the cinema photography was excellent. Glimpses of Sydney harbour and its famous bridge put me in a great mood anticipating what beautiful scenes might follow. Alas! What a strange mixture.

In one of the final scenes we see a notice warning people to take care because the Sydney Harbour rocks are slippery. I waited in trepidation because i was sure something terrible was about to take place. But no! We hear a man addressing a lesbian investigator ...."Thank you for making love to my wife; you sure put a light in her eyes".

I'd be surprised to learn if a film like this could prove to be a profitable venture. My recommendation: AVOID!

Far more interesting from many others of its kind...

[katiakallai · 7/10 · 27 February 2001]

An interesting film, since there are only a few of this kind. It seems that is hard to convince the viewer in the beginning but as it runs it gets better. Bear in mind that K.McGillis is older than the woman she's impersonating, same stands for S.Porter. The story has some unclear points, but the director has managed to cover them. In a few words, a nice try - next time better luck (or script). It is not a 'MUST' film to see, but I do recommend it (at least is far and away more interesting from many others of its kind).

Good if You like soft-porn for women, bad if You want movie-quality and ugly if You love detective-stories ...

[tfduckman · 1/10 · 24 August 2006]

Pretending to be open-minded is easy nowadays - see a lousy movie with some unhetero-sexual scenes in and You're in with the IN-crowd ... One day they'll probably let necrophiliacs marry too ! ("Married with Bundy" !) This is one of a bunch of movies trying to "normalize" homosexuality and in this lesbian case show how sickening and dangerous men are. The only problem with these obvious intentions are that the movie itself becomes sickening with prejudices and dangerous for true movies whether made by or about lesbians ... I haven't seen many, but even the slightly naive "Better Than Chocolate" (1999) is far better than this and the strangle-orgasm + a detective with close companion is twisted & copied - it can be found 7 years earlier om "Rising Sun" with Snipes/Connery !!!

A terrible mistake not to have seen the plot mainly stolen from Michael Crichtons "Rising Sun", but nowadays anything which seems very woman-centralized gets hailed as a "brave new girl" ...

No, I felt the acting was artificially "correct" and the story tried to be light and funny at times, but it collapsed mostly and a heavy rotten biased smell remained ... But the women seemed more potent than the men and refreshingly bed-active ! :-)LOL

Jay Thomson680 wrote : *******************************************************************

And what was the point of Jill's closing line: "Forget the bitch"? Porter didn't mention that. Was its inclusion to comfort the (conservative, hetero, etc) viewer that the dangerous dyke relationship is over, and we can all sleep nice and easy. Worrying stuff, indeed.

******************************************************************* *******************

No, it's not a conspiracy to comfort non-homosexual or other strange people ... It's very simple - Jill says to herself (like a true private dick, erh, I mean dyke) that she should find another woman and forget the love for Diana that still lingered on after she broke up ... but "Worrying stuff" ? Only for people who watches "little doctor on the prairie" !

nicely done noir-variation from a queer-perspective

[m_mckechneay · 7/10 · 6 May 2001]

"The Monkey's Mask" knows the rules for a sex-and-crime detective adventure, involving a private eye (brand lonely-wolf), a mysterious femme fatale and a some irritating background information. It converts all those generic ingredients by involving a lesbian woman as the detective. The story is told from her perspective, making use of a voice-over now and then. The plot itself is divided up in chapters, the name of which we learn by inserts, while we see the eyes of protagonist Jill, watching. As to be expected from a Neo-Noir, the she-detective falls in love with the beautiful, but irritating female suspect. Works in creating suspense and overturning gender-cliches.

Trashy and vulgar

[evraymer · 1/10 · 9 April 2006]

This movie was a big disappointment. First, it was billed as a suspense, but it wasn't very suspenseful or even interesting (I found I really didn't care that much who killed the dead woman). Second, the film is probably only appealing to those who don't mind a lot of foul language, or sex between characters who try to choke and/or insult each other. Third, elements of it were highly improbable (are murderers really that cavalier about their crimes being discovered?). I admit I switched back and forth to other programs while watching this film on TV, but it was still too long a viewing. Even Kelly McGillis couldn't save it.

Masked desires and fantasies unleashed

[videorama-759-859391 · 8/10 · 11 January 2021]

I see this movie has a 5.0. Frankly I'm utterly disgusted. The Monkey's Mask is a beautiful flow of film, featuring two intriguing, mesmerizing characters in the shoes of two exceptional performances, more notably that of Suzie Porter, one of the greatest young Aussie actresses from the late 90's. Her performance is amazing, electrifying, captivating, truly doing her lead character justice. Just watch her mannerisms, movements, for one. TMM has a fresh feel, and again is another independent, arthouse treat. Now about the 5.0 imdb average.... where the hell did it go wrong? The ones, disfavoring this, probably thought it was boring, didn't like the flavor of story, or may'be couldn't make any sense of it. You must really look at the two flawed characters, and too that poor unhappy teen girl poet, whose life was cut short. Her parents utilize and implore the services of lesbian freelance PI (Porter) to track down the killer, who could of been another poet at the club, the teen girl, belonged to. Suspicion falls heavily on the father, as does. when we have, a young daughter murdered. in other films, or real life. Investigations lead her to, a married and bi poet lecturer (surprising American import Mcgillis). A deep sexual affair, attraction takes up, and soon both are bare, and doing it anyway, for the movie viewer's much appreciative and subtle pleasure. What I like about The Monkey's Mask, besides it's high originality, and provocative performances, is it doesn't give too much away. Judge and view this one for yourself.

Uneven but intriguing

[azeemak · 7/10 · 7 April 2001]

Hmm, not bad: this film has a lot going for it, the principal asset being Susie Porter, who is assured but vulnerable, believable and very sexy in the lead. There is a pretty good chemistry between Kelly McGillis, who is always worth watching, regardless of whether or not she's playing steamy sex scenes with another woman, and she also conveys a dangerous ambivalence, for a good reason.

Some of the dialogue is pretty good, and the poetry scene is always welcome as a setting for a film (only other one I can think of is Love Jones, which is in a diametrically opposite milieu). Unfortunately, some of the dialogue is pretty awful, mostly involving Kelly McGillis character's husband, who was completely unconvincing to me throughout. The ending was a surprise to me, but I decided it wasn't due to my being slow, more that the film simply hadn't led up to it. Still, to be fair, there may have been some clues earlier, which are touched on at the end.

Worth it for Susie Porter, for the whodunnit which is quite well sustained, and (let's be honest) if love scenes between two very attractive women tickle your fancy...

Trashy pseudo intellectual torture porn.

[alistairc_2000 · 1/10 · 4 August 2007]

I got this drivel for £0.33.

This is a novel attempt at making a movie in the same way a poet makes a poem. The movie revolves around the disappearance of a vulgar female sluttish poet. Instead of making a crime thriller the director has made a new wave lesbian poetry thriller. Unfortunately this movie does not work as a lesbian romp. Nor does it work as a crime thriller only leaving the poetry.

Kelly McGillis looks old in this movie. She is rather underused in this movie which is a shame as when she gets to act the movie starts to pick up briefly. Her co actress really should not do nudes and is pretty ugly. Also is is not the greatest actress but as this movie is dire perhaps this is not the best advert for her acting abilities.

On a plus side the music is good and the cinematography is great in parts. These are not enough to pick up this really dully movie.

Death in Inner City Poetry Scene

[hodo68 · 5 June 2002]

Let me state first of all that I liked this film. It revolves around a female PI who is investigating the disappearance of young student poet who is later found murdered. She becomes involved in an affair with the student's teacher who may or may not be involved in the murder. It flows quite well maybe abit slowly for some but to me this is the right pace. The movie is delineated into sections much like a poem and in some ways the lead (admirably played by Susie Porter) seems to float through this world of poetry readings, steamy love trysts and threatening phone calls a player yet somehow disassociated from it all.

There were however some things that annoyed me a little about the whole film and while they didnt spoil it for me they nevertheless grated on me. Susie Porters character though solidly played nevertheless did not ring true to me. She is meant to be a working class ex-cop familar with the mean streets of Western Sydney now navigating her way through this bunch of artsy intellectual types. She didnt quite ring true to me - she almost seemed part of that crowd herself - her outsider status wasnt obvious to this viewer.

I found the some of the use of nudity and sexual profanity abit try hard. What I mean by this is that it was almost abit forced.To me It looked as though it was saying look how comfortable we are in showing nudity etc,I suspect it was almost there to spice things up rather than being integral to the plot (to be fair a pretty hard line to draw on many occasions).I also found the whole characterisation of the murdered girl and her parents abit annoying. The parents are cardboard carictures of what inner city intellectuals view the suburbanites (with money) as -dull boring and clueless , & the murdered girl is portrayed as some spoilt little brat from the leafy suburbs on a parent subsidised rebellion - another cliche. I find this more than a little ironic as the subject matter of this film is likely to draw an audience (in Australia anyway) that is largely the arthouse end of the market (ie monied and educated) Anyway these points though somewhat annoying to this viewer really are only minor distractions.Overall the film is worth seeing.

If You're Looking for Lesbian SEX...

[Janet-4 · 5/10 · 20 January 2003]

...forget it. You will see lesbian "situations" but NO actual sex. Sorry. Lord knows I was! Kelly McGillis is one very sexy 'older' woman, but in bed, her talents were UNUSED. The story is good, the movie is worth renting for it. But if you are looking for honest-to-God woman-on-woman sex, you will not find it here.

no mystery here

[MysSL · 4/10 · 6 March 2009]

The book (on which this movie was based on) is supposed to be groundbreaking, fusing poetry and mystery. Judging by the few snatches of poetry allowed in the movie and some interesting dialogue, that might be true. The movie, however, fails on so many points - maybe only the cinematography is not bad - that it's useless to enumerate them. Even the graphic sex scenes get boring after awhile. Most of the actors are not convincing, except for two: Abbie Cornish who plays the captivating young poet Mickey, and in a more limited way, Marton Csokas as Nick. Cornish steals the scene whenever she shows up. Otherwise, and specially as a mystery, the movie completely fails.

The realistic Marton Csokas Performance

[cocomontblanc · 4/10 · 11 July 2010]

The Monkey's Mask is not a great film. The plot is not originally made and the thriller last only half an hour. Anyway it is interesting for some reasons. The lesbian love between Jill and Diana is very well interpreted by both Susie Porter and Kelly McGillis (a bit over-aged for nude scenes). Even though the only remarkable detail which worth the vision of the movie is the superb erected penis showed by Marton Csokas at the end (almost) of the film. Csokas is pretty handsome: his realistic interpretation offers a spectacular "out of program" to the - till now - exhausted and annoyed watcher. This is why director Samantha Lang must be considered an innovative sex-showed-maker. Italian director Tinto Brass has been fighting for years to demolish any censorship and censure in movies for total realistic interpretations. It is important not to fall in vulgar images. Samantha Lang's style is very elegant. She has directed sex scenes with authentic good taste. Marton Csokas, here, is the husband of Poetry professor Diana/McGillis. He is a very pleased partner to his wife and try to seduce Jill also. Marton Cksokas seems to be accustomed to play strong roles (Rain and Asylum for example). To see Csokas' sex excited is an occasion not to lose. It would be grateful to see a sequel, possibly more involving than this, but starring Csokas and Porter again.

Monkey see,Monkey do.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 26 February 2015]

Talking to a family friend about having greatly enjoyed the 2014 Aussie Neo-Noir film The Reckoning,I started to get told about an Aussie Noir title which he had been meaning to pick up for ages.Taking a look at Amazon Uk,I was happy to see a DVD of the movie being sold at a very cheap price,which led to me getting ready to wear the monkey's mask.

The plot:

Retiring from the police force, Jill Fitzpatrick decides to become a private detective. Receiving a call from out of the blue,Fitzpatrick is asked by the parents of Mickey Norris if she can track down their daughter,due to Norris having been missing for 2 weeks.

Visiting the last place that Mickey was seen,Fitzpatrick discovers that Norris was involved in underground poetry groups.Getting hold of Noirris poems,Fitzpatrick is disturbed to find that most of the poems involve violent sexual imagery.Tracking down Norris poet teacher Professor Diana Maitland,Fitzpatrick sets her sights on uncovering the meaning behind Norris poems,but soon finds herself writing sonnets for femme fatale Maitland,who seems to have her eyes set on writing the final verse.

View on the film:

Adapting Dorothy Porter's "poems novel" (!),the screenplay by Anne Kennedy gives the title a distinctive,quirky vibe,thanks to Kennedy playing around with the traditional amateur male investigator role of Film Noirs,and also offering a number of tantalising genre crashes,which leads to the movie switching from gritty Neo-Noir,to sharp lesbian Drama.Whilst Kennedy does well at offering a unique take on Film Noir,the dialogue sadly takes the sheen off the movie,due to it having a blunt feel which infects the movie with an atmosphere of Kennedy being desperate to make the dialogue as harsh as possible,which leads to it being at odds with the intelligent outline that Kennedy has given Fitzpatrick.

Being one of the few women to have directed a Neo-Noir, Samantha Lang shows Fitzpatrick's (played by a very good Susie Porter,who also appears naked in the movie)growing attraction towards Professor Diana Maitland (played by a terrifically brittle Kelly McGillis) in an eye-catching manner,by making the striking sex scenes lose clarity,as Fitzpatrick finds herself getting steamy for Maitland.Making glass a prominent feature of the film,Lang shows an impressively subtle skill in using the glass to reflect clues towards Fitzpatrick,which leads to Lang slowly pushing the glass to the front of the screen,and smashing it in a deeply stylised manner,as Fitzpatrick's realises that she has uncovered missing Norris lost verse.

waste of time

[alphamaleno-1 · 1/10 · 11 February 2013]

Just did not like this movie, or anything about it. I don't mean to be rude but Susie Porter is utterly miscast and completely unbelievable as a "private detective" (c'mon). She is also physically repulsive (makes me wonder how she ever made it in acting) literally hard to watch on film.

Mcgillis' acting performance (and looks) are slightly better but I think in truth she made this film just to be controversial and maybe revive her dying career. Sex scenes are also poor and the films climax plain lame. A movie just full of ugly lesbians and no backbone.

Give it a miss!!

I loooooooooove this film

[clarityclaire · 10/10 · 4 November 2002]

Poetry, murder, lesbians... what else do we need really. Suzie Porter is fabulous as Jill, and Kelly McGillis is wonderful (and sexy) as Diana.

The verse novel on which it is based is one of my favorite books. Translating a complex and beautiful verse novel into film would be difficult, however it is excecuted incredibly well. The poetry is present in some of the dialogue and in the voice of Jill as a narrator. The images of Sudney capture the city well, concentrating on the beauty rather than the rough patches.

Beautiful

Watch it for McGillis!

[dbdumonteil · 13 June 2005]

McGillis really steals the show.Even in her former parts ,she was an ambiguous androgynous person (in "the accused" which gave Foster her first Oscar,she had something male in her).She literally explodes here,she mesmerizes the audience,in her part of a lit professor in love with a lesbian private investigator.The movie contains plenty of gay women sex scenes ,so be warned:it's not for all tastes .

As for the plot itself it's not really exciting.The characters are not very interesting,it's a pity that the victim's parents' parts should be so underwritten.The same goes for Nick.The soundtrack is good ,including excellent songs and haunting music.But it's not enough.Without Kelly McGillis,the movie would be completely undistinguished.

One of the best I've seen

[asimonel · 10/10 · 6 July 2002]

This had to be Kelly McGillis' best work. I've never heard of Susie Porter before this, but after reading some reviews and seeing some of her previous work, she is an actress well on her way. The story itself can be a little confusing at times but it all works well. I think this movie is a must see, however, not for everyone. For those of you out there who like to see an actual story with a plot, some wonderfully acted intimate scenes, this is a great movie.

The acting was serious considering that Kelly McGillis is not gay, nor has she done anything like this in the past. However, both actresses were wonderful in bringing the characters to life and showing the audience their true colors. I will definitely be buying it when it comes to video.

"I Feel You In The Room Like A Knife!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 28 September 2021]

Private Investigator Jill Fitzpatrick (Susie Porter) is trying to find a missing girl. While looking for clues she encounters Diana (Kelly McGillis), a poetry professor. Jill is overwhelmed by her attraction to this beautiful, older, married woman.

The two soon hook up and the proverbial sparks fly!

Everything seems fine until the missing girl case takes a tragic turn, and the parents want Jill to catch the person responsible. This leads to threats on Jill's life and a growing sense of paranoia and dread.

Meanwhile, Jill discovers that Diana has a very dark, cold side to her nature.

THE MONKEY'S MASK is an erotic thriller with a nice noir atmosphere. The story is intriguing and unsettling. Parker and McGillis have great chemistry, and the love scenes are convincing.

Highly recommended for fans of the genre...

A nice little mystery

[acidjesus · 9/10 · 6 October 2001]

A nice little movie but for a flick that is supposedly a crime / mystery the plot really moves along slowly and takes some fair turns away from the mystery part at some points. Susie Porter is quite good in the role and since this is the first time I've seen her act I was quite impressed that she managed to pull off the tough PI role quite well. The music in this film along with the cinematography is a very nice touch to the rest of the story and I really liked the usage of different shots to get the attention of the viewer and show them something new.

The plot itself was alright, not the greatest mystery movie I have seen but alright, but then again most people will probably not remember the story as well as the interesting characters it presents. Our lead PI being probably the most memorable.

The whole movie has a `independent / student film' feeling to it which I really like so I would have to recommend this movie for anyone who is slightly bored of the fast paced mystery films which focus more on cheap thrills rather then character development ( ala Along Came a Spider ).