Three Blind Mice (film)
Encyclopedia
Three Blind Mice is a 2008 feature film written, directed by and starring Matthew Newton
. It is the second film directed by Matthew Newton
and premiered at Sydney Film Festival
in 2008. To date it has screened at over fourteen international and Australian festivals.
) has been mistreated at sea and is going AWOL, Dean (Toby Schmitz) has a fiancé and the future in-laws to meet, and Harry (Matthew Newton
) just loves playing cards. Throughout the night the boy's struggle with what a night in Sydney can offer, as details of their last six months at sea emerge.
. While Newton has stated the film is not a political statement, it does portray his belief that young men should be making mistakes, rather than going to war. The film also references iconic Australian military legends, such as Gallipoli
Primarily, the film explores what it is to be a man, and what that means to live and act in a male-dominated world today.
The film relied soely on independent funding, while Screen Australia
contributed funds for the film to be transferred to 35mm print.
Cast and crew from the film was largely made up of friends of Newton's. Gracie Otto
who was a lead support in the film also edited.
It has been noted in several reviews that the film was inspired by John Cassavetes
, and thus many scenes were improvised around the screenplay.
Newton has stated that he intended to make a multi-narrative film, so that every character could treat the film as though they were the lead, rather than rely on a sole protagonist.
and David Stratton
on ABC's At the Movies
. Primarily, both reviewers noted the strong performances by the distinguished cast.
While the performances by the cast were particularly acclaimed for their freshness, Matthew Newton
's screenplay was also commended and noted for its maturity, comedy and realism. His directorial ability was also commended.
Titan View
picked up distribution rights for Australia and New Zealand.
Three Blind Mice struggled to secure a theatrical release in Sydney, the city it was produced in. Finally, the Chauvel Cinema agreed to show the film for five consecutive Friday nights. Titan View
CEO John L. Simpson
noted that this limited release was due to the city's arthouse cinemas rejecting the film as not commercial enough.
Meanwhile, Three Blind Mice secured a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles, promoted by exposure at such festivals as SXSW.
Despite critical acclaim at several international and local festivals, Three Blind Mice was not nominated for an AFI within Australia
Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and...
. It is the second film directed by Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and...
and premiered at Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...
in 2008. To date it has screened at over fourteen international and Australian festivals.
Plot
Three young Australian naval officers hit the streets of Sydney for one last night before being shipped out to Iraq. The dynamic between the three friends is uneasy; Sam (Ewen LeslieEwen Leslie
Ewen Leslie is an Australian actor.Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, he started appearing in various TV shows from the age of 12...
) has been mistreated at sea and is going AWOL, Dean (Toby Schmitz) has a fiancé and the future in-laws to meet, and Harry (Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and...
) just loves playing cards. Throughout the night the boy's struggle with what a night in Sydney can offer, as details of their last six months at sea emerge.
Cast
The film features many distinguished and critically acclaimed Australian actors. The full cast list is as below:| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Toby Schmitz | LEUT Dean Leiberman |
| Matthew Newton Matthew Newton Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and... |
SBLT Harry McCabe |
| Ewen Leslie Ewen Leslie Ewen Leslie is an Australian actor.Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, he started appearing in various TV shows from the age of 12... |
SBLT Sam Fisher |
| Gracie Otto Gracie Otto Gracie Otto is an Australian actress, film producer, writer and film director.- Early life :Gracie Otto is the daughter of the Australian actor Barry Otto and Susan Hill. Her sister is actress Miranda Otto and her brother-in-law is actor Peter O'Brien... |
Emma |
| Marcus Graham Marcus Graham Marcus Graham is an Australian television and stage actor who has also starred in several films, including Mulholland Drive and Josh Jarman. He was known as a teenage heartthrob in the early 90s while starring in the Australian TV soap E Street as the character "Wheels"... |
John |
| Clayton Watson Clayton Watson Clayton Watson is an Australian producer, actor, writer, and director. He grew up in the Australian outback on a sheep station close to Morgan, a small town in South Australia... |
Vito |
| Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades Alex Dimitriades is a Greek Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Dimitriades was born in Sydney, the son of first generation Greek immigrants and is the youngest of three siblings . He grew up in the suburb of Earlwood... |
Tony |
| Pia Miranda Pia Miranda Pia Miranda is an Australian, multi-award-winning actress whose career was launched with her successful 1999 role in the feature film Looking for Alibrandi, an Australian film based on the novel by Melina Marchetta.... |
Sally |
| Barry Otto Barry Otto Barry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change...... |
Fred |
| Heather Mitchell Heather Mitchell Heather Mitchell , is an Australian actress, appearing in Australian productions of Stage, television and film. She is a graduate of NIDA... |
Kathy |
| Jacki Weaver Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth "Jacki" Weaver is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. She is best known outside Australia for her performance in Animal Kingdom, for which she was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Career:Jacki Weaver has been working in Australian... |
Bernie Fisher |
| Charles Tingwell Charles Tingwell In 1941, aged 18, he volunteered for war service overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, personnel from Commonwealth air forces were part of a joint training and assignment system. Consequently, Tingwell trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942... |
Bob Fisher |
| Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, screenwriter and director. Cowell was born in Sydney. He stumbled upon acting by accident while waiting for his sister to come out of a rehearsal; he was then cast in a commercial at age 8... |
LCDR Glenn Carter |
Themes
Three Blind Mice has been noted as the first portrayal of Australian soldiers serving during the War in IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. While Newton has stated the film is not a political statement, it does portray his belief that young men should be making mistakes, rather than going to war. The film also references iconic Australian military legends, such as Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
Primarily, the film explores what it is to be a man, and what that means to live and act in a male-dominated world today.
Production
Three Blind Mice was filmed in a 'Guerilla' style; on location without proper permits and in locations in Sydney that are not often seen on screen.The film relied soely on independent funding, while Screen Australia
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Federal Government’s key funding body for the Australian screen production industry. Its functions are to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable industry....
contributed funds for the film to be transferred to 35mm print.
Cast and crew from the film was largely made up of friends of Newton's. Gracie Otto
Gracie Otto
Gracie Otto is an Australian actress, film producer, writer and film director.- Early life :Gracie Otto is the daughter of the Australian actor Barry Otto and Susan Hill. Her sister is actress Miranda Otto and her brother-in-law is actor Peter O'Brien...
who was a lead support in the film also edited.
It has been noted in several reviews that the film was inspired by John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
, and thus many scenes were improvised around the screenplay.
Newton has stated that he intended to make a multi-narrative film, so that every character could treat the film as though they were the lead, rather than rely on a sole protagonist.
Reception
Three Blind Mice was critically well received, earning three and a half stars from both Margaret PomeranzMargaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz AM is an Australian film critic and television personality.-Early life:Pomeranz was born in 1944 in Waverley, a suburb of Sydney, and was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney in Croydon, the then newly opened Macquarie University, and the Playwright's Studio at...
and David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
on ABC's At the Movies
At the Movies
At the Movies is an Australian television program on ABC1 hosted by film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, in which they discuss the films opening in theatres that week.-History:...
. Primarily, both reviewers noted the strong performances by the distinguished cast.
While the performances by the cast were particularly acclaimed for their freshness, Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton
Matthew Newton is an Australian stage and screen actor. Born in Melbourne, he is the son of television personalities, Bert and Patti Newton, brother of Lauren Newton, brother-in-law of Matt Welsh and uncle to Sam Albert and Eva Eunice Newton Welsh.-Acting:Newton has performed in Australia and...
's screenplay was also commended and noted for its maturity, comedy and realism. His directorial ability was also commended.
Release
Three Blind Mice did not secure a theatrical distributor for several months throughout 2008 and 2009. Finally in April 2009,Titan View
Titan View
Titan View is an Australian feature film distributor and production company, founded in July, 2007 by John L. Simpson, who is the current CEO of the company. Titan View is the 2010 recipient of the Innovative Distribution Funding from Screen Australia, and CEO John L. Simpson pioneered a 'do it...
picked up distribution rights for Australia and New Zealand.
Three Blind Mice struggled to secure a theatrical release in Sydney, the city it was produced in. Finally, the Chauvel Cinema agreed to show the film for five consecutive Friday nights. Titan View
Titan View
Titan View is an Australian feature film distributor and production company, founded in July, 2007 by John L. Simpson, who is the current CEO of the company. Titan View is the 2010 recipient of the Innovative Distribution Funding from Screen Australia, and CEO John L. Simpson pioneered a 'do it...
CEO John L. Simpson
John L. Simpson
John L. Simpson is an Australian film and theatre producer, writer and distributor. He is the CEO and founder of Titan View...
noted that this limited release was due to the city's arthouse cinemas rejecting the film as not commercial enough.
Meanwhile, Three Blind Mice secured a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles, promoted by exposure at such festivals as SXSW.
Awards & Festivals
Three Blind Mice has featured and been in competition at the following festivals- 2008 Sydney Film Festival - In Competition (No wins, Jury Commendation)
- 2008 Times BFI London Film Festival - Won FIPRESCI Prize
- 2008 International Thessaloniki Film Festival - Won Best Screenplay
- 2008 Toronto Int'l Film Festival
- 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival
- 2008 Toronto International Film Festival - Discovery section.
- 2008 AFI FEST (Los Angeles) - In Competition, WINNER- Best Screenplay.
- 2008 Canberra International Film Festival
- 2009 Dublin International Film Festival
- 2009 Glasgow International Film Festival
- 2009 SXSW (South By Southwest)
- 2009 Philadelphia Film Festival
- 2009 Cleveland International Film Festival
- 2009 Seattle International Film Festival
Despite critical acclaim at several international and local festivals, Three Blind Mice was not nominated for an AFI within Australia