Sweetie

Sweetie (Criterion #356).
1989 Arenafilm & Janus Films.
Starring: Genevieve Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling, Dorothy Barry, Michael Lake, Andre Pataczek
Director: Jane Campion
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Jane Campion's first feature film is a brilliant and sometimes disturbing look at a dysfunctional family centered around an emotionally disturbed sibling.

We open with Kay (Colston), a very superstitious young woman obsessed with fate to the expense of actual social interactions. After visiting a psychic, she sets her sights on a coworker, the recently engaged Louis (Lycos), who she has been told is the one she is destined to be with. The engagement lasts less than an hour, as Kay meets and seduces Louis in the parking garage.

Thirteen months later, the relationship has gone from hot to not, and both Kay and Louis are sleeping in different beds, with Louis bemoaning the loss of his sex life. As the unhappy couple is trying to work out their differences, they receive an unexpected visitor: Kay's sister Dawn, known as Sweetie (Lemon) to the family, who has literally broken into the house and moved in, along with her boyfriend and "manager" Bob (Lake). Sweetie says Bob is managing her music career, but he's essentially on another planet at this point, thanks to various illegal substances, or so it's implied.

Sweetie's reckless and childish behavior are largely the result of her father Gordon (Darling) giving her everything she demands. It could be argued that their relationship may be an incestuous one, particularly in the scene where Kay catches Dawn giving her dad a bath. During her stay at the house, Sweetie even tries to seduce Louis (who has a wandering eye when it comes to women, we learn) during a family trip to the beach.

Dawn's obvious issues prompt Kay to demand that her parents do something about her, but Gordon and Flo (Barry) are having their own problems. They temporarily split up, with Flo departing for the outback, and Gordon moves into Kay's house, where he continues to let Sweetie run amok. Later on, the family tricks Dawn so they can visit Flo in her new surroundings as a cook for a group of cowboys. When everyone comes back home, Sweetie is even more out of control, and everyone in the family must confront their own issues, in addition to what to do about Dawn.

However, a strange and unexpected tragedy awaits everyone.

Highly, highly, highly recommended movie, with stellar performances from all involved.