MIFF NOTES: Ecco Homo (2015, Dirs. Lynn-Maree Milburn, Richard Lowenstein)

As much as I'd love to love Richard Lowenstein and Lynne-Maree Milburn's Peter Vanessa "Troy" Davies documentary, Ecco Homo, and as much as was loving it in its early stages, I cannot recommend it as a fitting tribute to the Melbourne actor slash artist slash director slash provocateur slash spiritualist.

In fact, unfortunately, I can't even in good faith claim that these two respected Australian film makers have even managed to establish why Davies is even a worthwhile subject for a documentary. That is not to say that he isn't (he certainly is) but Lowenstein, Milburn and their endless parade of insider talking heads never come to terms with what made Davies so intrinsically special.

I'll hazard that this slippery definition of worth and the inability to pin their subject down was intended to form the intangible structure of their film but if that is what they were aiming for they have not succeeded and not succeeded in grand style.

In their defense, Davies' chameleonic DNA makes him an incredibly difficult subject. Child abuse, trans identification, blagging video director (for the likes of U2 and INXS), artistic talent and transformative spiritualism (tempered by AIDS-associated dementia) all inform Davies' life story in complex ways. It is a life that is difficult to navigate but Milburn and Lownstein's linear approach only really serves those who knew him well.

By not distilling the essence of what made Davies so special to so many people, Ecco Homo drags. There are so many fascinating periods in Davies' life but, in the end, as it enters quasi-mystic phase and the film begins to attempt its anarchic beatification, it just needs to end.

One friend echoed my sentiments. I was waiting for Davies to die so the sprawling affair could be over and done with. That's a horrible reaction to a film that goes to great lengths to endear its subject to the audience. It is a signal that Ecco Homo is not at all successful in celebrating this (apparently important) enigmatic artist.

There is a more piercingly honest film amongst all this, even a sublime one. In its current state though, I expect Ecco Homo will only matter to those trying to come to grips with their own experiences with Davies. This is clearly something that will hamper its broader appeal.

★★☆

Ecco Homo screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2015.