link: MIFF AWARDS

Sounds like a Lifetime channel movie of the week. In the hands of a lesser director and cast, it could be. In the hand of Australian director Nadia Tass, this Melbourne melodrama resists clichés and conventions.

Part of CIFF’s “Global Health”sidebar, “Matching Jack” follows the cataclysmic leukemia diagnose of a young boy. His mother Marissa, the lovely Jacinda Barrett soon afterwards learns her husband David (Richard Roxburgh) was with his mistress when Jack was diagnosed. It’s the latest of many affairs, but instead of imploding, Marissa embarks on an awkward mission – to see if David has an illegitimate child who might be a bone marrow match for Jack. Along the way, she bonds with the father of the Jack’s hospital roommate, Connor (the wonderful Irish actor James Nesbit), who counters his son’s dire situation with whimsical tales of boats and magical journeys. As fine as these adults are in their roles, its young Kodi Smit-McFee (from “The Road”), as Connor’s son, Finn, who steals the show as a boy who approaches his prognosis with a gentle weariness beyond his years.

In addition to the expected rage and tears, Tass’ nuanced film deals with less common issues in such movies: how do the parents of a child doing better relate to those of a child getting worse? How do parents tell a child he’s dying? How does a child tell a parent he knows? Is it ethical to have a baby to help your living child? And how do you deal with your own romantic relationships while your child is sick?

There are no easy answer to any of these questions, and this is not an easy film. It’s a smart tearjerker that elicits laughs and sobs. That’s quite a feat for a film where much of the action is set on a children’s cancer ward.

- The Plain Dealer

Link: www.cleveland.com

Set in Melbourne, Australia and based on real event, the film starts in a familiar frantic rush. Two parents juggling family and work: the father David (played by Richard Roxburgh) attending the first half of his son’s birthday party, while mother Marissa (Jacinda Barrett) talks on her mobile while lighting the candles on the cake.

But the pace of Lynne Renew and David Parker’s screenplay slows down when little Jack (Tom Russell) gets quickly tired during a school football match and blood tests show he has a high white cell count that warrants being admitted to hospital. Not a good moment for a philandering father to be ignoring his mobile and not checked into the hotel he told his wife.

As Jack’s health fails, Marissa and David’s marriage unravels in the hospital. Enter manic, new age, hyper positive thinking widower Connor (James Nesbitt), father of Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who’s in the same two bed Leukaemia ward.

“When the spirit dies, so will the flesh. That won’t be happening to my son Finn.”

He’s the kind of crazy father who pretends to live in a mythical world in which his son is sailing towards a land in which he’ll be reunited with his mother, and builds the shell of a wooden boat around his son’s hospital bed and sails it around the corridors. No gesture is too big for him. As Jack summed it up from across the ward:

“Is his Daddy sick too?”

Yet when faced with bad news, his optimism at times turns to a very human private despair out of sight of his son.

Parents will do anything to “fix” a sick child. The film explores the desperate lengths to which Jack’s parents will go to find a bone marrow match. Could any of David’s affairs have resulted in offspring that would offer Jack hope.

While death is always on the horizon, the film manages to balance tragedy with levity. The escape sequence is magical and one of many great memorable visual images contained in the film. A single black swan swims significantly across the harbour. Some later scenes are filmed at great distance, giving the characters privacy at moments of pain.

It’s an emotional film. Bring tissues. Bring extras for the people sitting around you. Yet amidst the morbidity and bitterness there is hope, love, sacrifice, reluctant cooperation and enthusiastic generosity. And a timely reminder that children are worth fighting for and loving in good times as well as bad.

With an initial release in Australia, Matching Jack is touring film festivals and in the running for a number of awards. Hopefully it will go on general release and deserves to be seen by wider audiences.

After the screening, I spoke to director Nadia Tass who talked about the film and its prospects. And if you like the film, I’m sure she’d appreciate your support over on the film’s Facebook page.

Link: alaninbelfast.blogspot.com

As a necessity we desensitise ourselves from so much that when a film like Matching Jack arrives, it reminds us that we are still human and able to feel something.

In the case of this great Australian film it’s compassion to the enth degree.

Jacinda Barrett and Richard Roxburgh star as parents Marissa and David, whose son Jack is diagnosed with leukaemia.

The only way to save Jack is to find someone with a rare bone marrow match for him.

However, what follows is far from the typical “parents search for a cure” plot.

It turns out David has been sleeping with many women behind Marissa’s back for years.

In fact, he was actually planning on leaving his wife for Veronica (Yvonne Strahovski) when he learns of Jack’s illness.

A distraught Marissa discovers a diary kept by David that lists all his indiscretions, so she uses it to track down all his past flings in the hope he fathered a child that would be a genetic match for Jack.

It’s an interesting twist that helps the viewer connect with Marissa’s struggle even more.

While confronting the women David has betrayed her with could be disastrous for her own psyche, she does so for the love of her son.

Where this movie truly shines is in the relationship Jack (Tom Russell) develops in hospital with another boy suffering from leukaemia, Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Finn’s illness is far more progressed but his father Connor (James Nesbitt) hasn’t given up hope that his son will be cured.

His quirky ways of bringing cheer to his son and strength to Marissa are inspiring.

Director Nadia Tass handles the material well, avoiding cliches and cheap emotional ploys to make us feel for her characters.

If you don’t feel moved watching this then I’m sorry, there’s something wrong with you.

Matching Jack allows us insight into a world that unfortunately is a reality for so many families. You may cry, you may not – but it will definitely stir your emotions.

- Penrith Press

Link: www.penrith-press.whereilive.com.au

Director Nadia Tess takes a similar risk with artistic licence in this wonderful film when she has two small boys, in fancy dress, sneak out of the hospital’s cancer ward and make their way, by cab, to Melbourne’s Luna Park. It’s a big ask, but I took it on board unhesitatingly, so wrapped was I in the drama that was unfolding. Sick kids are hardly the most appealing subject matter, but writers Lynne Renew and David Parker have constructed a narrative that maintains forthright pace, suspense and a modest, slow blooming romance without at any time demeaning the plight of their central characters.

Eight year-old Jack (Tom Russell), in hospital after being diagnosed with aggressive leukemia, becomes mates with fellow sufferer Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee), whose condition is more advanced. Jack’s mother Marissa (Jacinda Barrett) discovers on the day of his admission that her husband David (Richard Roxburgh) has been having an affair and is planning to leave her. With their marriage in meltdown and David’s numerous infidelities coming to light, Marissa seeks out his former mistresses in the last-straw hope that one of them may have borne him a child who might be a compatible bone marrow donor. Meanwhile Finn’s condition deteriorates, despite the defiant optimism of his widowed, Irish dad (James Nesbitt). Yes, it’s a soapie alright – but what a beauty.

The search for a donor – if one exists – is never predictable, but a reassuring orthodoxy in the flow of events promises reward for the emotional weight that is at one point (for me, anyway) overwhelming. Barrett, who first caught the eye in ‘Ladder 49’ (2004), is superb as the desperate young mum, Roxburgh is genuinely dislikeable as the utter bastard and, as Finn’s dad, James Nesbitt reins in a character that threatens at first to tilt in to goofiness. Both boys are naturals. Polished without ever trying to be flash and enhanced by a perfectly pitched Paul Grabowsky score, it has inevitably suffered from the black-shirts’ charge of sentimentality, but I loved it and found it immensely moving and honest in its humanity. You can catch it at Lismore.

- Echo

Link: www.echo.net.au

All too often writers and directors exchange realism for needless melodrama and Alf Stewart worthy dialogue that is almost pure cultural cringe.

However, the latest offering from veteran Australian director Nadia Tass could not be any more different.

Matching Jack is a story that transcends cultural boundaries and, despite being very Australian, Tass has managed to deliver a film that stands up on an international stage.

It tells the story of the Hagan family, whose world is turned upside down when their eight year old son Jack (Tom Russell) is diagnosed with leukaemia.

Desperate, his parents Marissa (Jacinda Barrett) and David (Richard Roxburgh) begin to look into treatment options, however they soon realise that their son needs a bone marrow transplant.

The doctor explains to them that in order for the transplant to be successful Jack will need an appropriate donor and a sibling would be the ideal match.

There’s a problem though – Jack is an only child.

The couple’s relationship is thrown further into turmoil when Marissa discovers that her husband is having an affair.

Heartbroken, she begins to look deeply into his sordid past and realises he has infidelities tracing back more than 16 years.

But when she realises what this means, she decides to track down David’s former lovers in the hope that he may have impregnated one of them, because if he has she may just find a match for Jack.

It also deals with Jack’s friendship with his roommate Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee), whose father Connor (James Nesbitt) is desperately trying to keep his dying son’s spirit alive.

It is impossible to describe just how moving this film really is.

Tass’s choice of photography was very clever, alternating between careful set ups and more guerrilla shots in the turbulent scenes, and the overall delivery was very naturalistic and believable.

While I did find the overall plot a little out there – the performances really sell this movie.

The film’s two young leads, Russell and Smit-McPhee, were excellent and both Jacinda Barrett and Richard Roxburgh proved just how underrated they really are.

However, the real star of this movie is James Nesbitt who proved his brilliance once again. Like he did in his 2002 film Bloody Sunday, the Irish actor has shown his humanity and turned in a performance that was extremely compelling.

This film is very classy and doesn’t succumb to temptation of soap opera moments. Where it would have been very easy for a film like this to become pretentious or get bogged down in melodrama, it doesn’t.

Unlike My Sister’s Keeper, which had only one purpose – to make women cry – this film is far more tasteful.

While it is a bit of tear-jerker, and it certainly doesn’t retreat in some of the more confronting scenes, Tass has approached the topic with the respect and dignity it deserves and that is what makes the film so powerful.

This is by no means the best Australian movie I have ever seen but it is certainly the best one I have seen in the last few years.

- Goulburn Post

Link: www.goulburnpost.com.au

So why would anyone want to watch this film? Why would we put ourselves through hell and back and become Jason sobbing uncontrollably? I even made a comment on my radio segment last week that I was going to see the film that very night and that it was a “cancer film”. Mike Goldman made a comment back to me that actually stopped me. “Everyone you know has a cancer story, everyone has been touched and torn apart by this disease and there should be more films about cancer and how it effects people”. I tip my hat to you Mr Goldman. I think the whole of Australia, even the world, should see this film.

Matching Jack is a powerful emotional drama from award winning director Nadia Tass, about the unbreakable bond between parent and child.

At the same time Marisa Hagen (Jacinda Barrett) discovers that her child (Tom Russell) is seriously ill, she also finds out that her husband (Richard Roxburgh) has been unfaithful for years.

Marisa goes on a bizarre search in an attempt to turn her husband’s serial affairs into a positive – an illegitimate child could save her son’s life. A chance encounter with another parent, Connor (James Nesbitt) & his son Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee), leads them on an unpredictable journey of love and hope.

Like I said, everyone has a cancer tale, mine is the loss of the closest man I have ever had in my life when I was 13, my grandfather, the best man I have ever known who raised me like a son. My mum lost her best friend in her early 30s and my best male friend lost his father at the same age I was when I lost my grandfather, before I got the chance to meet the man who would be so proud of the son he raised.

Cancer is hideous, but imagine discovering your child has a form of cancer and what it would do to you – it would drive you to the gates of hell to attemp to rectify the situation and this is the sucess of this film. I believed every part of it. It does have a glossy ending but not before your heart is ripped out and served on a plate in front of you. This would seriously be a superb film for all school children to study.

The film is directed by Nadia Tass, a stalwart of Australian cinema, TV and theatre, she hasn’t directed for cinema since 1997 when she made us Amy. She does a superb job of bringing us a well rounded beautiful tale of family, love, dedication, sadness, hope and determination. It stars Jacinda Barrett who has been in Ladder 49. Poseidon (although we won’t hold it against her), Bridget Jones 2, The Last Kiss and Middle Men. She rocks – I cannot fault her performance. It also stars Richard Roxburgh who plays a great and selfish role, he would be best known for the most recent Hawke – as the man himself, and besides the mutlitude of Australian roles he is more worldly known for things like Van Helsing, Moulin Rouge, Stealth and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Then there is James Nesbitt as Connor, the father of another sick child. He is just awe inspiring and the most selfless character in the film. Nesbitt is most known from TV shows Murphy’s Law and Cold Case.

Then come the kids – the heart and soul of this film. Firstly their is Tom Russell as Jack. This is Jack’s fourth film and he will soon be seen in Tim Winton’s classic made for TV, Cloud Street as Young Fish Lamb. The kid is great and shows an emotional level not yet grasped by many Hollywood adult actors but he is overshadowed by my favourite child actor Kodi Smit-McPhee who plays Finn. The charatcer of Finn held much pain for me – one of my fave children in the world is named Finn, and all I could think of was what if that was my Finn. How would his mother deal with the pain of it all and how could I cope with their grief? I couldn’t. But Kodi delivers yet another superb performance. Mark my words, this kid will become one of the greatest actors in the world. He is just brilliant at everything he touches. He has been in Romulus, My Father, The Road and soon to be in the much anticipated US version of Let Me In. Watch his space!

This film is horrendously sad and will dredge up your own personal cancer demons, but it is beautifully told and the end of the journey is worth the trip. It is out now and I urge you to watch it. Worth 9 out of 10.

- Salty Popcorn

Link: www.saltypopcorn.com

Merissa Hagen (Jacinda Barrett), her architect husband David (Richard Roxburgh) and their young son Jack (Tom Russell) appear to be a happy upper-middle-class family. One day Jack suddenly tires during school sports and Merissa takes him to the local doctor for some tests.

To her great dismay they come back positive for leukemia, and Jack is quickly placed in the cancer ward of the children’s hospital. Also at this time Merissa discovers David is having an affair; which comes as an additional traumatising shock.

In the same ward Conner (James Nesbitt), a charming if extroverted single parent, is doing his best to liven the spirits of his son Finn (Kodi Smit McPhee), also suffering the disease and gradually getting worse. Then it turns out philandering David has been sleeping around for ten years, with a noted preference towards blondes.

So there are perhaps a number of possible siblings who could have suitable bone marrow for a transplant which might save Jack’s life. Merissa sets off on a mission to find one of these suitable donors, while developing an attachment for the wildly buoyant Irishman.

With considerable audience appeal thanks to the sensitive direction of Tass (The Big Steal), providing excellent performances from her cast, while keeping the emotional level high. Co-written by David Parker with Lynne Renew, Parker also co-produced and the shot the movie. Tugging at the heart strings is Paul Grabowsky’s effective score.

Jacinda Barrett (The Last Kiss) carries a number of powerful scenes which she handles very well, more so perhaps than her screen husband David as played by Richard Roxburgh (Hawke -TV). Irish import James Nesbitt (Five Minutes of Heaven), in one of his most effective roles, covers the wide dramatic range with professional polish, having just a whisper of Malcolm, the character from Tass’s first film

Special mention goes to the children, both Tom Russell (The Tree) and Kodi Smit McPhee (The Road and forthcoming Let Me In) easily prove they’re up with the best of the experienced cast. The film features fine performances from both. The supporting players, liberally sprinkled with well-known television faces, might even take a lesson from the kids. A couple of the smaller parts aren’t strong, tending to be underwritten.

OK, so there are moments in the film which stretch your credibility to maximum. The really impressive visual scenes are the most fanciful – a magical ride through ward on a bed/boat, a hospital window smashing, a hospital bed surrounded by candles, and a taxi ride to Luna Park. They’re great images on the screen, enabled through crisp, clean cinematography of Melbourne with many innovative views. David Parker’s camerawork throughout remains sparkling throughout in often beautiful compositions.

The cynical-minded may suggest it’s manipulative, yet I found Matching Jack a touching, charming, sometimes tragic film with a message of hope, which remains in the memory. To quote Nadia Tass “with angst, pressure, complexity of relationships and a soaring emotional through-line, it will have you sobbing, and in the very next breath, feel delight in the absurdity and humour. It’s a celebration of the human spirit.”

- The Blurb

Link: www.theblurb.com.au

Tass is nothing if not persistent. The veteran Australian filmmaker, whose CV includes 1986’s Malcolm and 1990’s The Big Steal, spent years trying to sell movie studios, producers and various financiers on a script co-written by her husband, David Parker, about two families whose paths intertwine when their respective young sons are hospitalised with leukaemia.

The response was almost uniformly negative.

“The majority just said, ‘A sick child? A child that dies? We’re not going down that path,’ ” Tass recalls the morning after a sellout screening of that movie, now titled Matching Jack, at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

After years of rejection, Tass and Parker, who, as ever, also served as his wife’s director of photography, are enjoying their vindication.

“I had a man come up to me after a screening recently and tell me that watching the film was the first time he’d ever cried as an adult,” Tass says. “People have very strong and genuine reactions to Matching Jack.”

The story of two innocent boys struggling with a fatal disease is laden with emotion. Even the most workmanlike of filmmakers could twist tears and great sobbing gulps from the scenario. But what makes Matching Jack so solid a work is the narrative’s breadth and the unexpected ends it reaches.

At the start of the film, we meet Marisa (Jacinda Barrett) and David Hagen (Richard Roxburgh), a seemingly successful and happily married Melbourne couple. But when their only son, Jack (Tom Russell), is diagnosed with leukaemia, David’s infidelities are also revealed. Marisa is both repulsed and obsessed, because if David has fathered an illegitimate child, they might have a desperately needed bone marrow donor.

While Marisa is caring for Jack and methodically tracking down her husband’s former flings, she comes under the influence of Connor (James Nesbitt), the widowed Irish father whose sailing adventures with his son, Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee), summarily ended in Melbourne following the boy’s diagnosis. Connor does everything possible to raise his boy’s spirits, while also preparing him for the possibility that he may not recover.

“I read it and thought it was an opportunity to do something different from a sequence of dark roles and it was something my children could watch,” says Nesbitt, best known for the movie Bloody Sunday and television’s Cold Feet.

“It captured the essence of a relationship between a father and son: the friendship, the love, the respect, all during the most terrible of circumstances. Connor was someone pure and honest and loving, without being ridiculous. It’s rare that a writer captures something so good for a film.”

Northern Ireland-born Nesbitt read a draft of Matching Jack in 2006 and committed to it at the time, without knowing it was years away from production.

Once Tass had been rejected by most mainstream sources, she’d begun chasing private investors. The film almost went into production in 2008 but the global financial crisis hit.

“We lost our main investor during the financial crash and we went back to James and told him that the budget would have to come down and that we weren’t sure if we could afford him,” Tass says. “His reaction was, ‘Of course you can afford me. I’m in. I’m doing this film.’ ”

The story’s slow march to production allowed Tass to further research children’s hospitals and for Parker to fine-tune the screenplay. The revised screenplay kept pulling actors in: Barrett, a former model, had always played variants of “The Girl” in Hollywood films such as Ladder 49 or School for Scoundrels but for Tass she could play a strong mother and a scorned wife. “Jacinda told me, ‘I’m usually reading women who are so simple that I can walk on and do them but with this I have to think and work it out,’ ” Tass says.

The production also had, fresh from playing Viggo Mortensen’s son in drama The Road, Smit-McPhee, the 14-year-old Australian prodigy who Nesbitt, like Mortensen before him, calls a “Brando”.

“He’s frighteningly brilliant,” says Nesbitt, who admits he was emotionally knocked about after their final scenes together. “I didn’t have to try and find the emotional loss and pain of losing Finn, it was so strong from Kodi’s performance.” See the review in Spectrum tomorrow.

- Sydney Morning Herald

link: www.smh.com.au