AtomicAce

The "Wilderpeople" in this quirky comedy are two lost souls: a wayward youth from the city (Ricky Baker –Julian Dennison) and his grouchy foster uncle (Hector – Sam Neill) with a past he can't forget. This odd couple find themselves on the run and dependent on each other in the New Zealand wilderness. I must admit I am a sucker for quirky unpretentious New Zealand comedies that are warm-hearted but resist the Hollywood schmaltzy formula. The humor in this film is typically Kiwi – dry, offbeat and irreverent. Julian Dennison is great as the rotund teenager with a sense of fun and adventure. As the escapade moves to its climax, the plot becomes more and more farcical. While some of the scenes are funny, our empathy for Ricky and Hector fades. Empathy and farce do not mix well. And the ending is hurried and not completely satisfying. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie and the Aussie audience came away wearing a smile.

In 1963, a young journalist and aspiring novelist returns to her hometown, Jackson, Mississippi, at a time when the civil rights movement is gaining momentum. Her job on the Jackson Journal – writing a column on house cleaning tips – leads her into contact with the experts: black women who are the nannies, cooks and housekeepers for rich white folk. Thus begins an unlikely alliance that exposes the indignities suffered by black maids at the hands of Southern belles who ironically spend their idle moments raising money for African charities. The ultimate revenge of the maids is both funny and gross. The movie evokes many emotions; laughter, tears, anger and perhaps even shame. There are wonderful performances by the maids, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis, who surely must be in the running for Oscar nominations.

The book on which the movie is based is pure fiction but the interspersing of historical facts – the murder of a civil rights campaigner and the assassination of President Kennedy – create the feel of a true story. The excesses of the era, from Ford Thunderbirds to the women's dresses and hairstyles, are authentically depicted. And there are real parallels between the fictional novelist (Skeeter Phelan – played by Emma Stone) and the book's author, Kathryn Stockett, who was born in Jackson, raised by a black nanny, and who struggled to get her first novel published.

The movie can also be viewed as a social commentary on the times. As such, it has been criticized for its stereotypes, caricatures, hyperbole, even racism. Such a criticism would be valid for a documentary but not for a work of fiction. Perhaps the criticism is an indication that the topic can still hit a raw nerve.