REVIEW: Lead Us Into Temptation, Old Red Lion
Three star rating Jackie Finch is a rock star on the brink of big things, he lives in a drug-den-squat and has a perverse relationship with heavily set devotee Helena. Their connection is upheld only by her relentless massaging of Finch s ego. Barbara, a
Three star rating
Jackie Finch is a rock star on the brink of big things, he lives in a drug-den-squat and has a perverse relationship with heavily set devotee Helena.
Their connection is upheld only by her relentless massaging of Finch's ego. Barbara, another Finch disciple, is keen for Finch to grab commercial glory and all its trappings. Like Helena, she will surrender all sovereignty to her man.
It is a plot that promises to thoroughly bore its audience. Worse still is the fact that writer Christopher Hanvey also directs and stars.
Basing his work loosely on the life of the late, great Kurt Cobain, at least Hanvey has succeeded in locating some accuracy. Like Cobain, his protagonist Finch sees fast cars and sprawling mansions as inane objects. Taking the messiah mantel and awakening others to your message are the rock 'n' roll leader's obligations.
And Like Cobain's music, the dialogue here is inclined to sail on a voyage of self-indulged, incomprehensibility. There are times where you ask yourself: "What am I watching?" and "What are they saying?"
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So it would be easy to discard all Hanvey's work as nonsense. Yet, conversely, it could be seen as a portrayal of the drug-crazed, self-deluded individual. There are, after all, people who actually behave in this way. Not just rock stars but drug-fuelled egotists of many descriptions.
Because of this, it's worth persevering with Lead Us Into Temptation - assuming you have the required patience.
Furthermore, the two supporting actors turn in totally convincing performances. Nicola Stuart-Hill, playing Finch's manager Barbara, wears such strong facial expressions of seduction and ecstatic passion it's hard to tell if she's acting or not.
Jessica Hrabowksy, as the sadistic Helena, works mini-miracles while delivering her brand of thuggish insanity and desperation. As for Hanvey, self-centred he may be, but he also knows how to act.
Until June 14.
Rene Butler
