‘Bad Behaviour’: Sundance Review

Dir: Alice Englert. New Zealand. 2023. 109 mins.

As most New Age gurus would tell you, the road to enlightenment is hard work and far from straightforward. Much the same could be said of Alice Englert’s tale of mother and daughter reconnection, although she does achieve some poignant moments along the way. 

Englert has plenty to say, especially about the  expectations surrounding good motherhood and daughterhood, but narrowing her focus would produce sharper results.

Englert, whose debut feature is premiering in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance, also stars in the film, which along with the presence of Jennifer Connelly and Ben Whishaw could help it attract the interest of distributors, although given the intimate nature of the dramedy a streaming service seems more likely.

Connelly plays Lucy, a former child star who has been left jaded by life’s knocks and who is now heading to a US New Age retreat, only informing her daughter Dylan (Englert) while she’s already en route. Dylan, who is working as a stunt double on a set in New Zealand, doesn’t quite give her mother the reaction she wants, which turns out to be a hallmark of their relationship. 

This dual-country narrative is where the uneveness starts for Englert behind the camera, as she struggles to move seamlessly between Lucy’s retreat and her daughter’s film set. The retreat itself recalls the one that was fully played for laughs in last year’s New Zealand comedy Nude Tuesday, although Englert seems ambivalent about committing to a comedic tone. Whishaw is a go-to guy for sweetly amusing roles and he wafts neatly into the shoes of guru Elon Bello.

Lucy proves a cynical presence in Elon’s Being Lost workshops, taking a fierce dislike to young model Beverly (Dash Nekrasova), and sharing thoughts like “never give in to hope” on the group whiteboard. The more intricately-worked situational humour here - including an absurd mother and baby role play -  works better than the broader running gags about the way retreat employee Petunia (Ana Scotney) hero-worships Bello and a flickering light at night. Englert - who knows a thing or two about being the daughter of someone famous thanks to director mum Jane Campion - also spends so long at the retreat watching Lucy’s blood slowly boil that we’ve almost forgotten about Dylan before the plot returns to her mounting woes with boyfriend Elmore (Marlon Williams). Englert, like Connelly, nails her performance but the subplotting doesn’t add much to the overall direction of the film.

An impressive plot twist later and the action gets a welcome gear change as mother and daughter come together and start to cautiously work through their issues in ways that could have provided enough material for a much more original film. The latter half of the film also allows Matt Henley’s camerawork more room to breathe as ideas of nature and freedom come to the fore. This section feels less contrived as the pair move from conversations about serious family incidents to whether to share pizza in a free-ranging manner. Through it all, Connelly and Englert completely sell their conflicted yearning for one another’s love but because this section is a late arrival, the revelations have to come thick and fast.. 

There’s no doubting Englert’s ambition - there’s even an animated dream segment - and she has plenty to say, especially about the  expectations surrounding good motherhood and daughterhood, but narrowing her focus would produce sharper results.