 Some
people seem to have it all - the perfect partner, the lush green surroundings
of New Zealand, and the company of a hundred and seventeen cows.
Meet Lucinda
(Danielle Cormack), who in the opening scene of The Price of
Milk lives in unwedded bliss on a ramshackle dairy farm, miles
from anywhere amid fairytale countryside. But all is not well with
Lucinda, who cannot stop worrying about how to keep the sparkle
in her relationship with Rob (Karl Urban) - a happy-go-lucky farmer
who dotes on both Lucinda and his herd of heifers.
Despite their
erotic encounters, including numerous rolls in the hay and Rob proposing
marriage in a bathtub placed in a field under the stars, Lucinda
cannot shake off her fears.
She enlists
the help of her friend Drosophila (Willa O'Neill as a character
named for a fruit fly), a spunky food store assistant who in no
time at all advises Lucinda to start a fight with Rob to test their
relationship.
This inspires
one of my favourite scenes in the movie - Lucinda decides to go
for a dip in one of Rob's cavernous vats of milk, and comes bobbing
to the surface in her flowery swimming cap and bathing suit to surprise
him. Her face is a picture - she looks like a naughty schoolgirl,
guilty and pleased at the same time. And completely white. It is
hard to believe that Rob could possibly be angry with her, even
though she has spoilt a thousand dollars' worth of milk. Lucinda
is surprised herself when Drosophila's advice actually works and
Rob's flash of anger turns into a spot of unbridled passion. The
sight of Rob stripping off and diving into the milk with her made
a cheeky end to the scene.
As a fan of
Through The Looking Glass-style escapades I completely fell
for the many surreal episodes offered up at regular intervals, which
only went to capture the mood of Lucinda and Rob's innocence. One
such scene involves the couple's patchwork quilt. After much fighting
over the bedclothes, which made me laugh and cringe at the same
time - who hasn't this happened to? - the two awake shivering to
find their bed cover has mysteriously disappeared in the middle
of the night. Lucinda becomes distraught, and eventually tracks
down the thieves: an old Maori woman known as 'Auntie' - who lives
nearby with her gang of nephew protectors.
Lucinda unthinkingly
trades the 117 cows for the quilt. Well, who wouldn't?
Rob. He is
so shocked at the discovery that his beloved animals have gone that
he goes into hiding and eventually falls into the clutches of raven-haired
temptress Drosphilia. And so starts the emotional roller coaster
comedy as we discover what Lucinda is willing to give up to try
and get the cows, and the man she loves, back into her life. Dripping
with bizarre escapades, the tale examines what can be compromised
for true love.
Apart from
the storyline, one of the most surprising things about this flick
is the cast themselves. They are normally found together in a far
less romantic setting, starring together on Xena: Warrior Princess
(Cormack plays amazon figure Epiphany, while Urban and O'Neill regularly
pop up on the TV show). After seeing them in such heartrendingly
love-struck roles it is hard to imagine them clad in leather and
battling away with Xena.
This is not
a film for those unwilling to leave reason at the door and just
run with the plot. There are too many unanswered questions throughout
- Who is Auntie the thief? Why do the couple not just buy a new
quilt instead of lying awake shivering? Does Rob ever wear anything
except those dirty blue work overalls? But I felt this just added
to its charm as a refreshing reminder that not every picture need
be a perfectly polished Hollywood blockbuster. After all, life rarely
dishes up all the answers in rational, or even irrational, order.
In this independent
picture, Sinclair, who also directed Topless Women Talk About
Their Lives, conjures up a multi-flavoured visual feast. It
is the perfect kind of movie to lose yourself in after a hard day
at work, and one that will also make you want to run off and settle
down in the New Zealand countryside, which provides a beautiful
backdrop throughout. What's more, it achieves its rare objective
of threatening to soften the heart of even the most hardened love-cynic.
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