Spider and Rose,
Written and directed by Bill Bennett
Starring Ruth Cracknell, Simon Bossell and Max Cullen
Reviewed by Pip Hinman
When Ruth Cracknell was asked to describe Spider and Rose, she said she didn't really know what to say about it. "You'll really have to see it. It's a road movie, but if I tell you what it's about, it will seem like a million other plots."
That's not my impression. But then again, I haven't seen all that many road movies. Spider and Rose is definitely a feel-good film, although perhaps a little too sentimental.
Spider (Simon Bossell), a young ambulance driver on his last day of work, is asked to drive a 70-year-old heart patient, Rose (Ruth Cracknell) to Coonabarabran to visit her family. Spider, or "Cockroach", as Rose often calls him, get off to a bad start: he's desperate to get back to Sydney in time for his party, and she, still grieving for her husband killed in a car accident a year ago, is undecided about whether she has the strength to go on without him.
During the trip (which turns into quite an adventure), Spider and Rose get to know, and eventually like, each other. They form a friendship that manages to transcends the usual barriers of age, background and gender.
Cracknell's performance, and the script, are especially good. Asked how she felt about performing the two nude scenes, Cracknell said she felt more comfortable doing them now than she would have some years ago. A feeling of liberation was how she described her role, and perhaps that, in the end, is what makes Spider and Rose the human film that it is.