MQFF NOTES: Grandma (2015, Dir. Paul Weitz)

Inter-generational solidarity is the order of the day in Paul Weitz's Lily Tomlin vehicle, Grandma.

It may not seem it at first but the angry vibrancy of Tomlin's performance as Elle, who's enlisted by her granddaughter, Sage (Julia Garner), to raise funds for an emergency abortion, is a act of personal and interpersonal reconnection that is immense in its eventual tenderness.

There are few actors who can manage distance quite as well as Tomlin. She's an actor who carries a vast public affection and off the back of that she can push people away without losing audience identification. Grandma works that to exceptional effect. From the first scene, Tomlin's abrasive comedy is on full display, with a perfectly timed break up from her new partner, Olivia (an excellent Judy Greer). The breakup and the emotional fallout that follows hard upon are the perfect introduction to Elle. She's a woman scarred, scared and defiantly hanging onto her past.

Not all of that is a bad thing. Elle's acerbic attitude slices through the bullshit with old school feminist force that'll have many an MRA nutsack contract ferociously. Her way in the world is no-nonsensed, and principled as fuck. Need an abortion? Let's get it done. Can't talk to your mother (a rebelliously high-powered Marcia Gay Harden)? She can handle it. Need cash? She's got an ex who owes her a favour (a gravelly, done-over Sam Elliot) and she's willing to do whatever it takes to call it in.

Tomlin's not alone here though. Everyone onscreen has taken Weitz's road movie screenplay and driven it to a place that is crowded with both chemistry and humour. Grandma is a character study that manages to study multiple characters at once. Even those with little screen time bring depth to bear. The beauty of this is that together they build a fulfilling portrait of the ins and outs of mother daughter relationships with all its barely disguised love, pent up anger and compounded hurt. It's tough but satisfying.

Lily Tomlin needed a vehicle. It's been over twenty years since she had one. She drives Grandma with comedic and dramatic precision and she pulls everyone along with her. It's taken a while but it is well worth the wait.

Great to have her back.

★★★★

Trailer:

Grandma screened as part of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.