Rated: M
Directed by: Tony Tilse
Produced by: Fiona Eagger
Written by: Deb Cox
Based on the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series of Books by: Kerry Greenwood
Starring: Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Rupert Penry-Jones, Miriam Margolyes, Daniel Lapaine, Jacqueline McKenzie, Izabella Yena, Khaled Naga, Nicole Chamoun, John Waters.
‘Let’s kick off our shoes and watch a movie,’ says Essie Davis at the Melbourne premiere, the setting fitting with the character Phryne Fisher being a Melbourne girl.
And hot on the heels (kicked off) of the highly successful TV, lady detective, crime series, Miss Fisher – one of the most successful television brands in Australia and overseas with episodes from the three series capturing audiences of more than a million each week in Australia with the series debut in France gaining an audience of 3.28 million – here, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears finds Phryne (Essie Davis) in the streets of 1929 Pakistan after 9pm. With undesirables.
Still up to her saving-the-world-while-dressed-in-the-latest: bright red dresses and the glittering gold sequined fashion of the 1920s, we find Phryne still has no regard for the rules, ‘That’s because they happen to be written by men.’
Rebellion aside, Miss Fisher is on a new case – imagine a Bedouin tribe flourishing for hundreds to thousands of years that is suddenly buried by an apocalyptic sandstorm that covers up the murder of the entire tribe.
Except one lone girl, Shirin Abbas (Izabella Yena).
‘Don’t worry,’ says Phryne. ‘I’ll find out who murdered your family.’
Based on the books written by Kerry Greenwood, the film has the same style as the TV series that will keep fans happy (although, some may miss side-kick Dot (Ashleigh Cummings) and hubby, Constable Hugh Collin (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) making only a brief appearance), yet there’s more room for story and intrigue in the movie-length mystery taking Phryne to Jerusalem back to Australia all the way to the sandy deserts of Pakistan.
And it’s funny: ‘Jack, are you there?’ Miss Fisher asks.
‘No,’ he replies.
Yes, the romance continues between the two crime fighters, adding to the charm of the Miss Fisher franchise that translates to the movie here – along with the old worldly humour, clues circled in red lipstick, the belief curses are real and exchanges like:
‘You’re only trying to butter me up.’
‘Like a crumpet.’
So, ‘Forget the tea, crack open the champagne’: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is more of the same, but what’s wrong with that? It’s sweet and fun and deserves to be celebrated.