Filmed in Western Australia, ‘Looking For Grace’ is the long-awaited new film from Sue Brooks about the complexities of family life.
Starring Australia’s new it-girl Odessa Young who plays Grace – a rebellious 16-year-old girl – who runs away from home. Her parents – played by Radha Mitchell and Richard Roxburgh – hire a detective and head out from Perth to the West Australian Wheatbelt to try and find her.
Along the way the family are faced with the realities of changing relationships and secrets are uncovered. It’s a film reminding everyone how precious life is, and that anything can change within the blink of an eye. ‘Looking For Grace’ captures each character’s journey within the story and is filmed from each character’s individual perspective. It is through this that Sue has masterfully managed to depict her trademark sense of character in the film.
Rising star Odessa was cast for the role of Grace just weeks before filming began and although ‘Looking For Grace’ is her first feature film, she stepped up to the challenge with nothing to fear. “It was my first feature so I think at the time it just seemed normal; like that’s how it happened,” she says.
“It was such a learning process that even in those few weeks of rehearsals and preparation that I had everyday was something new and I think I changed my idea of the character every hour in those weeks just trying to work it all out.
“It wasn’t necessarily more stressful than if I had more time because I think the curse of having a lot of time with a character is overthinking it. Getting way too caught up in it and it becoming a muddle of an idea of a person as opposed to a more instinctive character; which is kind of the plus side to having not that much time. Which is why I think my interpretation of Grace was so literal and raw.”
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In those first few weeks of preparation Odessa was able to work directly with writer and director Sue. “She was extremely hands-on in terms of the rehearsal process. I spent a good few days with Richard and Radha trying to work out the finer details of the relationship of that parent/ kid relationship. Sue is very much involved when it comes to improvisation and stuff and really lets you interpret what you will from what she’s written and then go with that,” explains Odessa.
On set meant shooting different sections of the film at different times in rural WA. “The shoot was almost split up into two parts of the film... We spent like a week and a half or a couple of weeks on each segment of the film so it felt almost like we were filming almost completely different films. Then when we got together it all just kind of worked.”
The Australian setting is evident throughout the film with many shots of the landscape. Some scenes were filmed in Fremantle, and some in the Wheatbelt of WA. Travelling through rural areas and staying in various accommodation was a whole new experience for Odessa. “It was not necessarily a glamorous filming experience but I also think that our off-set lives during that time were still pretty in keeping with the tone of the film.
“Obviously staying in these places with the cast and the crew, everyone got quite close, and you’re having these shared experiences off-set when you’re trying to find out if your hotel has bedbugs or something, or how to open a window or how to turn on the air-conditioning in these places with air-conditioning from the '90s. It was a really nice bonding time to have with everyone.”
With a bright future ahead of her, no doubt, the mature and eloquent teen was forced to step up to the plate in ‘Looking For Grace’ and admits everyday was a learning opportunity. “On set it was kind of like trying to hold your own in this story where obviously all the stories are so different and you know you’re trying to maintain your character throughout the whole thing while also being part of this group dynamic.
“The film really is about the perspective of events and different people and how they perceive different things and it just works out that all the actors had their own characters and their own kind of vision of the film.”
‘Looking For Grace’ is at Palace Cinemas from 26 January.
