Director Tony McNamara’s debut feature, The Rage in Placid Lake is a mixed bag. It instantly conjures comparisons to any number of American and Australian indie coming of age comedies, I (heart) Huckabees, Sweetie, Igby Goes Down and Rushmore, being the most obvious. Like those films, it shares a central character adrift in self crisis as he begins to navigate the adult world. Unlike those films, it creates a wholly believable series of personal tragedies and triumphs for its characters.
Placid Lake (musician Ben Lee), as his name suggests, is seemingly nonplussed in almost every situation he encounters. Saddled with new age parents more interested in their own personal discovery than helping to acclimate their son to mainstream society, he is forced create ever more elaborate ways to assert his independence and identity. Like all anti-heroes, he is beset upon by the pressure to conform. This pressure is manifested as three bullies that make it their life’s goal to humiliate and isolate Placid at every opportunity.
He must also confront his long simmering love for next door neighbor and best friend Gemma (Rose Byrne). Gemma has problems of her own. An obsessive and over bearing father directs his genius daughter’s life at every step. Gemma, unlike Placid, has everything mapped out for her. From the time she was a child she has been groomed for scientific greatness, “the next Marie Curie”. She offers a counterpoint, both in lifestyle and world outlook to Placid. The film revolves around this relationship and it is Placid’s desire for her that acts as a catalyst in his most ambitious plan to date: an attempt to become a “normal” person.
For him this means taking a job at an Insurance agency and modeling his appearance on that beacon of style, George W. Bush. Needless to say this action constitutes outright rebellion in the eyes of his parents. They have never bothered to notice the bruises, internal and external, sustained by their son. It takes a double breasted pinstripe suit for them to finally take notice of the turmoil seething just beneath the surface.
By making the parents outsiders, McNamara turns some of the conventions of this genre on its ear. It creates a different kind of dynamic between the character caught in crisis and the rest of the world. Placid wants to be a part of society. He has had nothing but encouragement to do the opposite, however. With the way things have been turning out so far, it’s no wonder he wants to reinvent himself as a corporate lackey. He believes this will bring structure to his life. For him it represents escape from rejection, and a chance to set himself apart from his parents. Sure it’s mundane, but it also offers stability. Something he has never had.
To McNamara a place like Icarus Insurance is a place to hide. Not from the world at large, but from yourself. Unfortunately the cold truth is that living a lie isn’t rewarding. Doing so will only bring greater tragedy. This theme dominates The Rage in Placid Lake. What’s interesting is that it’s all treated with humor and subtlety. Although the plot and character development may be familiar, the story of someone trying connect to the world resonates. Placid, like all of us, wants desperately to be accepted for who he is. In the face of rejection he changes tactics and becomes what he feels society wants him to be. This concept has been explored, as previously mentioned, in many recent films. What stands The Rage in Placid Lake apart from something like Garden State is its unpretentiousness. Ben Lee creates a smug, yet likeable character in Placid who feels real because his smugness, as well as his self-deceit, gets him no where with society, but succeeds in liberating him from a lot of his own demons.
There isn’t anything groundbreaking about The Rage in Placid Lake. It’s a mid-level indie comedy that at times makes you think you’ve seen it all before. It can surprise you though. Often hilarious, what the film really has going for are great supporting characters, in particular Placid’s parents (Miranda Richardson and Garry McDonald). This, combined with the reversal of the typical teen rebellion archetype is more than enough to keep you going through some of the more mundane sections of the movie.