High Tide

Director Gillian Armstrong and actress Judy Davis, who made such a successful team with the Australian film My Brilliant Career, join forces again in this superb psychological study. When Lilli (Davis) loses her job as a backup singer for an arrogant Elvis impersonator, she stumbles into a backwoods beach town trailer park, and finds the teenage daughter she'd abandoned years ago. At first Lilli doesn't recognize her own flesh and blood, but soon discovers another familiar face: her mother-in-law--who told the young girl that Lilli was dead, and now cautions her to stay away. Since Lilli's car is broken down, she takes a part time job as a stripper to raise the money needed for repairs, and during that time the battle lines and boundaries between three spirited and feisty women from different generations are drawn and redrawn. At the heart of the film is Davis's extraordinary performance as she struggles with the siren call of independence and the contradictory urgings of her matronly emotions. In one sense an impersonator herself, she must face up to her fears about living with strings attached. This is an exceptional film, one which is likely to have impact on adults and young adults alike. Highly recommended.