PROVOKR PICK: BABYTEETH
Eliza Scanlen in Another Amazing Performance
Eliza Scanlen stars in Babyteeth as critically ill teenager Milla who falls in love with small-town drug dealer Moses (Toby Wallace). Although her parents, Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Anna (Essie Davis) do not approve of Moses, they see how much he brightens Milla’s life, so they decide to take him into their home to keep Milla company. All the while, Anna is battling her own mental health issues. She is on a cocktail of different medicines prescribed by her psychiatrist husband and fears that her lack of clarity while on these drugs will prevent her from experiencing what could very well be her daughter’s last days.
Babyteeth is the feature film debut of both the director Shannon Murphy and the writer Rita Kalnejais, who adapted the script from her play of the same name. Babyteeth had its world premiere on September 4, 2019, at the 76th Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the prestigious Golden Lion. While it did not win the Golden Lion, Toby Wallace did win the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the festival. It also competed at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival. Universal Pictures acquired Babyteeth for distribution in Australia and by IFC Films for the U.S.
Babyteeth marks Eliza Scanlen’s first time as the lead in either a film or TV series. From what reviewers are saying, Scanlen, as Milla, has shown she is an amazing actress who can not only go toe-to-toe with the likes of Amy Adams (Sharp Objects) but also has the range to carry a film on her own.
Babyteeth comes out on-demand Friday, June 19, 2020.
