Share
Clip description
Aunt Vanessa (Wendy Hughes) has returned from London, where she has lived for some years. Her sister Lila (Robyn Nevin) takes PS (Nicholas Gledhill), the six-year-old son of their late sister, to the ship to meet her. PS has never seen anyone more beautiful than Vanessa. She brings gifts for the rest of the family – Lila’s husband George (Peter Whitford), and her two other sisters, Vere (Geraldine Turner) and Agnes (Isabelle Anderson), but Vanessa has eyes only for the boy.
Curator’s notes
We can see a lot of what makes Careful… such a memorable film in this clip. The director, Carl Schultz, builds a sense of anticipation in the walk to the cabin door, keeping the camera low so that we concentrate on the boy’s face. He is wearing his best suit of clothes, his hair is neat, and he is solemn with the occasion. The close-up at the door of the cabin shows his anticipation, bordering on fear. The shot which introduces Vanessa is classic Hollywood melodrama, in which her beauty is iconic and her self-regard is obvious – two impressions clashing against each other to make a knockout moment. She has probably planned this appearance for maximum impact, both to impress the boy and to assert her superiority, in style and bearing, over her sister Lila. This is the opening shot in her campaign to win the boy away from Lila and George, and it is clear from the comment by Agnes, the sister in the tri-cornered hat, that the subject of custody has been discussed by letter. Agnes tells Lila she must let Vanessa have the boy, otherwise there will be repercussions.
Each of these characters is memorably and quickly sketched out in this scene: George works at the Trades Hall and has no pretensions; Vere is loud and full of fun; Agnes is a religious zealot and somewhat vain. Lila has a quiet dignity and strength, which she will need to fend off her sister. The scene also gives us the first inkling of Vanessa’s psycho-sexual confusion, in the way she kisses the boy. She looks like a movie star, but we can tell already that there is something inappropriate in her longing.
