Sirens movie review

SIRENS

Sirens (1994), written and directed by John Duigan, is a film similarly close to it's Greek mythology title, but with a modern feminist twist.  There are beautiful sirens , or models, who lure men in and seduce them, but the world they live in is the international, lucrative modern art world.  The movie is based on a true story about the controversial, feminist, Welsh artist, Norman Lindsay (Sam Neill), who paints a portrait of his nude wife, Rose (Pamela Rabe), on a crucifix.  Lindsay enters the portrait, "The Crucified Venus" (1912), into an international art exhibition in Australia, only to have the religious and moral world community plead for him to withdraw the portrait from the show.  Ironically so, because this true story takes place during the morally conservative interwar period, between WWI and WWII.

Anthony Campion (Hugh Grant), an Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Estella (Tara Fitzgerald), are tasked with the job to visit Norman's estate in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.  They must convince the artist to retract his portrait from the show.  Being that Norman is an internationally respected artist, they need to convince him of the portraits blasphemous nature and it's affects on the moral mindset of the world.  They can't just tell him to do it or they will enact a backlash from the wealthy world art community.

Anthony is an Oxford educated Englishman with extensive knowledge in the fine arts.  His hope is to appeal to Norman on an intellectual level.  He has heard that Norman likes a good political or moral debate. 

Upon their arrival in this little out of the way, back country town, Anthony and Estella quickly realize they have their work cut out for them.  They see that despite the people in the towns around them ostracizing Norman and his companions, because of his nude portraits and feminist ideals, Norman is still defiant against the moral high ground everyone seems to project on him.

When they arrive at the estate no one is home.  They lay on the ground and fall asleep after their long and difficult commute to the estate.  They wake up to find Norman's clan standing above them after their picnic together.  We meet Lindsay's two young. mischievous daughters, Jane (Julia Stone) and Honey (Ellie MacCarthy) who speak their minds and a few curse words here and there,  Pru (Tziporah Malkah), the realist, Giddy (Portia de Rossi), the house maid and idealist, and Sheela (Elle Macpherson) the pot stirrer and truth teller.  All three nude models that Lindsay based his portraits on.

As the discussion between Anthony and Norman begins, he learns that Rose, Norman's wife, is actually the model for the crucifix portrait.  In learning this, Anthony has a realization of why Norman entered the portrait and is refusing to pull it from the art show.  It is a collaboration between he and his wife, but also, Norman's love song to his independent wife and her beauty.

While waiting to return to England, Estella and Rose, as well as the models and the ex- boxer/maintenance man/model, Devlin (Mark Gerber) start interacting.  The models befriend Estella and open her mind beyond her naive, provincial, buttoned up thinking.  We realize Norman, Rose and the models don't see their portraits as blasphemous, but they see them as giving women moral freedom and independence in a world who insists that women be controlled and also, control themselves.  These portraits out in public push the envelope and give women the right to be more themselves and less who society thinks they should be.  An effect Norman Lindsay called a "Wowizer" in real life.

This spawns Estella's sexual curiosity as she begins to explore these female relationships and her own independence and individuality.  She begins to see her sterile sexual relationship with clergyman Anthony as boring.  She starts to try new things, to the joy of her new friends.  Norman catches her exploring and sees her new realizations.  He is pleasantly amused.  As a result, Anthony becomes a part of the exploration himself.  Thus, his opinion starts to change about whether it really matters, if the portrait is taken out of the show or not.

In the end, Norman Lindsay and the art he created was not only his love letter to his strong, independent wife and daughters, but it was also his love letter to women as a whole.  His art sparked women's liberation and freedom around the world.  As well as, everyone's sexual freedom as human beings.  He wanted everyone to be happier and healthier. 

Norman saw religion as a way to control, not only the masses around the world, but particularly, a way for men to control women and tie them down.  His goal was to free women kind.  He was really one of the first feminist of our time. 

Norman could not understand how past artists, like Michelangelo, were revered for their nude sculptures and portraits in church cathedrals, yet present day artists were being stifled from showing, not only the beauty of the human body, but also the extreme beauty of women's bodies and their independent spirits within. 

This movie embodies that independent spirit and introduces us to the amazing talent and personality of Norman Lindsay and the strong women in his life, his wife, daughters and the models he worked with.  He helped to advance feminism and take women beyond being wrapped up, pinned up, controlled housewives to the independent women they are today. 

Thank you, Norman Lindsay!  And thank you Sirens for introducing us to his artistry and his activism, during a time when it was not easy to be a man who was a Feminist.  This movie is a must see for all, but particularly women and girls.  You will enjoy meeting Norman, his strong wife and this cast of characters.

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