MY FIRST WIFE

Australia, 1984, 96 minutes, Colour.
John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, Lucy Angwin, David Cameron, Anna Maria Montecelli, Betty Lucas, Bud Tingwell, John Finlayson, Julia Blake, Renee Geyer.
Directed by Paul Cox.

The comment on My First Wife was that it was a requiem for a marriage. It is an autobiographical story by Paul Cox collaborating with regular writer, Bob Ellis.

The film was part of the emerging of Paul Cox as one of Australia’s leading directors in the 1980s. After a number of short films and small-budget films, he began to make small-budget features which gave the impression of much higher budgets and showed skill in film craft. He made Costas at the end of the 1970s and won awards for Lonely Hearts in 1982 and for Man of Flowers in 1983. My First Wife comes after this.

Cox made quite a number of films during the 1980s and during the 1990s – but always a cantankerous personality, complaining about the lack of support he got from Australia and from the Australian industry even if he did receive numerous subsidies. However, Cox with his European background, the acerbic Dutch touch and the influence of some hard Germanic ancestors, brings a certain quality to his Australian perceptions and comic touches.

Cox was always interested in religion even if he was rejecting a lot of his Catholic background. Orthodox religion becomes a theme in My First Wife. As he grew older, Cox became more interested in religious themes, in the 1990s making The Nun and the Bandit as well as Exile. In 1998 he travelled to Hawaii to film the story of Blessed Damien, The Leper Priest of Molokai, on Molokai Island itself.

Many of Cox’s regular cast appear in this film. John Hargreaves won a best actor award for his role as John. Wendy Hughes complements his performance as Helen.

Cox uses an authentic Melbourne background of suburbia and homes and Port Phillip Bay. He also uses a great deal of classical music to give a tone to the film as well as a characteristic technique, the use of grainy film stock for dreams and for flashbacks.

A very interesting and mature Australian film on themes of marriage, commitment and break-up.

1. The focus of the title? Expectations? The focus on Helen, the focus on John (my)? The focus on marriage, breakdown of marriage? Prospects for the future?

2. The work of Paul Cox: personal, his contribution of writing and directing? His skill in small-budget films? Acclaim and awards? His interest in filmmaking, in visual art, music?

3. The film's use of music: the classics - Gluck, Orpheus and Eurydice, Requiem, Children's Songs? The themes of the music? Sound, meaning, explanations? Beauty? John's compositions, choral work, the range of voices, countertenor work? Instruments and skill? The comparison with pop music when John visits the disco? Renee Geyer and her humorous, ironic comments on pop music?

4. The background of Melbourne, suburbia, homes? Port Phillip Bay, the beach? The affluent bay suburbs? Radio stations? Cemetery? The authentic feel of the city?

5. The use of trains - realistically and symbolically? The train motif throughout the film? Coming and going, empty carriages, carriages passing to and fro? The use of boats, cars, the sound of the plane overhead at the funeral? The effect of these symbols? Life as journey etc? The insertion of the motif, the particular camera styles ? hand-held, home movie etc.? How obvious or subtle was the use of these motifs?

6. The importance of dreams, memories, the imagination? The grainy film stock, the trees, moonlight, sunset, feminine beauty? The dreams and the images as part of John's psyche? John's memory: the wedding, the characters at the wedding, Lucy's birth, Helen's response, Lucy playing with the dog? The editing and pace of the memories and dreams?

7. The opening with the train carriages and the ending with walking away from the funeral? What had happened in terms of experience, life and death, change? The future?

8. John and his relationship with his wife, the quality of the sexual relationship, his memories at the opening of the film? Ten years? The house and its furnishings, stained glass windows etc.? Affluence? His hopes? Seeing him at work, the radio station? His skills, capacity for information, people listening to him, relationship with the staff? His choral compositions, his attending rehearsals, relationship with the conductor? His lecturing? An ordinary man, professional man? His comments about going home in the train? Lifestyle? Tensions? His discussions with Helen? The tensions in the bedroom, her lack of response? His needs? The visit to the choir? Friendships? The complication of his father dying?

9. The Russian migrant background, his father and his bonds, talking with his father, learning truth from his father? His mother and her emotions, emotional religion? His father telling him the story about his mother's infidelity? Their learning to come to terms with each other? John's appearance, manner? The ten years of his marriage? The pros and cons? His love for Helen, infidelities, lack of awareness? His love for Lucy? His memories of her being born, growing? The illustrations of his love for wife and daughter? The build-up to his comment about being observant, the article and marital fidelity and infidelity and the casual build-up to the strong revelation of the truth and the shattering of his life?

10. His reaction to Helen's telling him the truth? The variety of stages of reaction ? the banal comments, shock, disbelief, anger. resentment? His arguments with Helen? The taunts about fidelity and infidelity? His standards, her standards? His pleading with her to stay? The discussion with Kirsten and his discovery of the truth about Tom? His confronting the conductor and swearing at him? Helen's parents and their wanting him to be reasonable? His emotive reactions against them? The visits to his father and his sadness? Hilary and her support at the radio station? His decision to go home with her and spend the night? His return, despair, memories, his feeling her had enough? The credibility that he would attempt to kill himself at this time?

11. His recovering, the depression at being alive? Discussions
with the doctors, with the psychiatrist? The lack of commun¬ication with the psychiatrist? His memories, dreams, the place of Lucy, the place of Helen? His talking? Helen and Lucy coming to visit him? The psychiatrist persuading Helen to try to mend the marriage? The hopes? The return home, the sexual encounter - and Helen's loathing? His going to Tom's place and seeing Helen with Tom? Taking Lucy from her grandparents, going to the motel? Meeting Helen in the park the next day? The accusations and bitterness?
12. John's father's death, the importance of the funeral, the re¬ligious service, his father not a religious man, John's speech, the ritual at the graveside? The family as a unit walking away - to what?
13. Where did audience sympathies lie? With John? With Helen? Audience capacity for understanding? The masculine point of view, the feminine? John's needs, Helen's needs? Marriage, commitment, love? Sensitivity and insensitivity? The poss¬ibilities of mending the broken marriage? John and his de¬pression and the pressure on Helen to come back? Her inability? The experience of the death and John's grief as a grounds for trying a new future?
14. The portrait of Helen: attractive, loving John, loving Lucy -and the scenes between them and Helen supporting Lucy in her love for her father? Audience response to her wariness of John on his return home? The discussion about the article, the build-up to the clash between the two, the revelation of the truth? Helen and her work in the choir, relationship with Tom? Hurt, blame, argument? Her decision to walk out? The support of her mother and father? Her mother worried, saying that she never wanted the marriage etc.? The father and his pleas for reasonableness? Having Lucy with her parents? The memories: the wedding and the wedding photo¬graphs, giving birth to Lucy, the family bond? The import¬ance of John's father dying, Helen's visits to him? The re¬action to John's attempted suicide? Going back to Tom, the night with him and John's reaction? Her discussions with Tom and accusing him of being like John? The funeral and the future?

I5. Lucy, her way of life, loving household, at home, playing with the dogs, love for her father, her mother? The scenes with each? Her playing the cello and her father's concern for her? Playing at home, at the performance and his tilting her elbow etc.? Her questions? Going to her grandparents? Going to the hospital? Her father taking her off to the motel? The effect of this experience on her?
16. Helen's parents, affluence, prejudice, the father's rationality and his not wanting to be emotionally upset? The mother going to the funeral - and apologising for her husband's absence at a board meeting?
17. John's mother, her grief? His father and his wisdom? The
sister and her coming from Perth, the grief? The funeral and its emotionality?
18. Kirsten and her telling the truth, her help with Lucy? Hilary and her support? But her not being always available to John?
19. The background of the choir, the choral work, the scenes of re¬hearsal, the conductor and John's attack on him, his presence at the funeral?

20. Tom as a pleasant man, role in the choir, his relationship with Helen and deceiving John, the callow reaction in the fight with Helen?

21. The psychiatrist and the film's poking fun at psychiatrists and their techniques, lack of understanding? The hospital staff? The support of doctors and nurses?

22. The significance of the pub scene (the guest spot with Bill Hunter and Denis Miller and Renee Geyer)? The discussion with the barmaid about music? The contrast between pop music and classical?

23. Migrant themes: John's family background? Helen teaching English lessons? The range of the students and their practising of English? The teachers and their advice for Helen?

24. Themes of family, relationships between men and women? Marriage break-up and its consequences?
25. Cox's themes and his emphasis on the importance of the family unit? The paralleling of John and Helen with Helen's parents' marriage and John's parents' marriage? John's father remarks before dying, in the end, the family is the most important.

26. The significance of the quotation from W.H.Auden which opened the film?