Clip description
Lilli (Judy Davis) takes Ally (Claudia Karvan) out for lunch. Overwhelmed when Ally talks about her father, Lilli cries in the toilet.
Curator’s notes
High Tide captures what it must surely be like for a mother to meet the daughter she abandoned. Lilli does not know what to do. Should she tell Ally the truth? Here, Lilli is trying to be a good mother to the unsuspecting Ally but is overwhelmed by the moment. The scene has little to do with having lunch and everything to do with the extraordinary waves of emotion Lilli is experiencing. The camera tracks in a single shot from Ally at the table to Lilli inside the cubicle. Note the graffiti on the toilet wall, 'Let me breathe’.
