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Joe (Sam Worthington) and Heidi (Abbie Cornish) order dinner at a Chinese restaurant, after Joe’s mates have humiliated Heidi in the street outside. Heidi asks him if he loves her. He evades the question and refuses to say if she is his girlfriend. Heidi gulps down a bowl of fresh chillies when he reacts badly to her ‘interrogation’.
Curator’s notes
The film uses the colour red at frequent points, to contrast with the predominant colours in the clothing – which are drab brown and black. The red suggests passion, an inflamed heart, and in this scene, the inflammation is somewhat literal. Heidi eats chillies as a form of self-harm, a protest at Joe’s unwillingness to let his emotions out. There’s a strong theme of localism in the movie – there are locals and tourists – but Joe also despises his friends for their restricted view of the world. Sam Worthington’s performance captures Joes’s emotional turmoil, his desire to express what he feels, and to experience a wider world. If only he knew how.
