THE MONKEY'S MASK

The Monkey's Mask is an erotic mystery/thriller with a twist. There's the detective, the murder mystery, and the femme fatale... but in this case, the detective is also a woman. With the backdrop of Sydney's "edgy" punk poetry slam scene (who'da thought?), as well as some gorgeous New South Wales landscape, the backdrop also adds a bit of flair to differentiate it from the latest run-of-the-mill Hollywood thriller. But that's not to say it's particularly good or memorable... that would be a bit of a stretch.

Susie Porter (who was also in the another Seattle Int'l Film Festival movie Better Than Sex) seems to be the Australian actress o' the moment. She plays sassy, butchy detective Jill, who falls for mysterious professor Diana (Kelly McGillis, looking tan and well, if a little bit... stretched taut). The investigation centers around one of Diana's poetry students found murdered, and all fingers start to point to those (of course) you'd least expect.

If you're looking for erotic, this film is on par with, say, Basic Instinct... sexy in a kind of naughty and voyeuristic way, but with the bonus that you don't have to see Michael Douglas' flabby ass. As a mystery, it works OK until the cop-out ending (with the new, soon-to-be-classic pickup line: "I want to be your goat."), which leaves too many dangling plot holes. But Susie Porter definitely has a presence, making her someone to watch as her career develops.