Recent PostsAge of Consent
Directed by
Michael Powell
Produced by
Michael Powell
James Mason
Written by
Norman Lindsay
Starring
James Mason
Helen Mirren
Music by
Peter Sculthorpe
Cinematography
Hannes Staudinger
Editing by
Anthony Buckley
Release date(s)
May 14, 1969 Australia
Running time
103 min
Language
English
IMDb profile
Age of Consent (1969) is the penultimate feature film directed by British filmmaker Michael Powell. The screenplay was adapted from the 1935 novel by Norman Lindsay, and is based on him.
Contents
//
Plot
Bradley Morahan (James Mason) is an Australian artist who feels he has become jaded by success and life in New York City. He decides that he needs to regain the edge he had as a young artist and returns to Australia.
He sets up in a shack on the shore of a small, sparsely-inhabited island on the Great Barrier Reef. There he meets young Cora Ryan (Helen Mirren), who has grown up wild, with her only relative, her difficult, gin-guzzling grandmother ‘Ma’ (Neva Carr-Glynn). Cora sells Bradley what she has caught in the sea and later a chicken, which she has stolen from his spinster neighbor Isabel Marley (Andonia Katsaros). When he is suspected of being the thief, he pays Isabel and gets Cora to promise not to steal anymore. To help her save enough money to fulfill her dream of becoming a hairdresser in Brisbane, he pays her to be his model. She reinvigorates him, becoming his artistic muse.
Bradley’s work is disrupted when his sponging longtime “friend” Nat Kelly (Jack MacGowran) shows up. Nat is hiding from the police over alimony he owes. When Bradley refuses to give him a loan, Nat invites himself to stay with him. After several days, Bradley’s patience becomes exhausted. Luckily, the problem is solved for him. Nat romances Isabel, hoping to get some money from her. Instead, she unexpectedly ravishes him. The next day, he hastily departs the island, but not before stealing Bradley’s money and some of his drawings.
Then Ma catches Cora posing nude for Bradley and accuses him of carrying on with her underage granddaughter. Bradley protests that he has done nothing improper; finally, he gives her the little money he has left to get her to go away.
When Cora discovers that Ma has found her hidden cache of money, she chases after her. In the ensuing struggle, Ma falls down a hill and breaks her neck. Fortunately, the local policeman sees no reason to investigate, since the old woman was known to be frequently drunk.
Later that night, Cora goes to Bradley’s shack, but is disappointed when he seems to view her only as his model. When she runs out, Bradley follows her into the water. There, she finally gets him to see her as a desirable young woman.
Cast
Actor
Role
James Mason
Bradley Morahan
Helen Mirren
Cora Ryan
Jack MacGowran
Nat Kelly
Neva Carr-Glyn
Ma Ryan
Andonia Katsaros
Isabel Marley
Michael Boddy
Hendricks
Harold Hopkins
Ted Farrell
Slim DeGrey
Cooley
Max Meldrum
TV Interviewer
Frank Thring
Godfrey, the Art Dealer
Clarissa Kaye-Mason
Meg
Judith McGrath
Grace (as Judy McGrath)
References
External links
- Age of Consent at the Internet Movie Database
- Reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages
- Age of Consent at the National Film and Sound Archive
Powell and Pressburger
The films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
1930s
The Spy in Black • The Lion Has Wings (Powell only)
1940s
Contraband • An Airman’s Letter to His Mother • 49th Parallel • One of Our Aircraft is Missing • The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp • The Volunteer • A Canterbury Tale • I Know Where I’m Going! • A Matter of Life and Death • Black Narcissus • The Red Shoes • The Small Back Room
1950s
The Elusive Pimpernel • Gone to Earth • The Tales of Hoffmann • Oh… Rosalinda!! • The Battle of the River Plate • Ill Met by Moonlight
1960s
Peeping Tom (Powell only) • They’re a Weird Mob • Age of Consent (Powell only)
1970s
The Boy Who Turned Yellow
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Consent_(film)”
Categories: English-language films | 1969 films | Australian drama films | Biographical films | Films by Powell and Pressburger | Romance films