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Clip description
The quiet rural farmhouse, where the pregnant Clare Fairweather (Noni Hazlehurst) has been enjoying a nap, is instantly transformed into bedlam as the first visitors arrive amid a rainstorm. Clare’s female friends Sandy (Helen Jones) and Therese (Fiona Press) quickly take charge.
Curator’s notes
The frantic way in which Sandy greets Clare by barking questions at her, not even saying ‘hello’, suggests she’s keen to take over the whole birth process. She seems both tense and breathlessly excited – and perhaps a bit obsessed: witness the way she shows off the new pram she’s brought along. We’ll find out why a few scenes later. Meanwhile, Therese issues curt orders to Sandy not to make any food for her husband, Michael (Frank Whitten) – an indication she’s both a strong feminist and a bossy boots.
Notice the way McKimmie uses the camera and blocks the actors (that is, places and moves them around the scene), transmitting a sense of the unfolding chaos while not allowing viewers to become confused. A particularly subtle and interesting detail is the way Michael enters the scene, greeting Clare from what appears to be the opposite side of the room to the front entrance. This adds to the sense of unpredictability and chaos enveloping the house.
