''Cosi'' is a 1996 Australian

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by

Mark Joffe Mark Joffe (born 1956) is an Australian film and television director. He has directed feature films, telemovies, and drama series. Joffe "learned his trade at Crawford Productions", working on ''Carson's Law'', ''Special Squad (1984), Special S ...

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

wrote both the screenplay and the 1992 play it was originally based on.

Plot

Ben Mendelsohn Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn (born 3 April 1969) is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his breakout role in ''The Year My Voice Broke'' (1987) and since then he has had roles in films such as '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) ...

stars as Lewis Riley, an unemployed young man who applies for a job as a director/drama teacher at a mental hospital. He lands the job and finds himself directing a production of the

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

opera ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...

'', an elaborate, demanding piece of theatre, an opera in Italian. And it is going to be performed by a cast that he must select from among the patients, who only speak English. One of the patients, Roy (

Barry Otto Barry Otto (born 1941) is an Australian actor, primarily of Australian cinema, cinema, and an amateur artist. Early life Barry Otto was born in Brisbane in 1941, the son of a butcher. He trained as an artist but switched to acting. Career Otto ...

), sweeps everything along before him, organising auditions, selecting cast members, and criticising the director. The cast chosen include three women: Julie (

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, inclu ...

), Ruth (

Pamela Rabe Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname *Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...

), and Cherry (

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

); and two men: Henry (

Paul Chubb Paul Dunford (14 January 1949 – 9 June 2002), professionally billed as Paul Chubb, was an Australian film, television and stage actor and scriptwriter primarily in genres of comedy and drama. Early life He was born in Arncliffe, a suburb of S ...

) and Doug (

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in ''Van Helsing'', Dilios in ''300'' and ...

). The musical director is Zac (

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay's music ha ...

). The enthusiasm of Roy infects the group, and they charge headlong into a memorable production. Alongside the story of Lewis, the theme of ''Così fan tutte'' is explored as it relates to his personal life. Lewis's relationship with his girlfriend Lucy (

Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths (born in 1968) is an Australian actress. Raised primarily in Melbourne, she began her acting career appearing on the Australian series ''Secrets'' before being cast in a supporting role in the comedy ''Muriel's Wedding'' ...

), already under pressure, is not helped by a friend called Nick (

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama '' Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Acto ...

), who seems more interested in testing Lucy's faithfulness than anything else. The story is loosely based on Nowra's own experience at producing ''

Trial by Jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significant ...

'' at Plenty Mental Hospital in suburban Melbourne in 1971.

Cast

as Lewis Riley *

as Roy *

as Julie *

as Lucy *

as Nick *

Colin Friels Colin Friels (born 25 September 1952) is a Scottish-born Australian actor of theatre, TV and film and presenter Early life Friels was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland.Interview with Colin Friels, ''George Negus Tonight'' (ABC Television) ...

as Errol *

as Cherry *

as Ruth *

as Henry *

as Zac *

as Doug (Mendelsohn, Otto and Wenham are the only cast members who have performed in the original stage play, portraying the same characters that they do on screen.)

Production

''Cosi'' was directed by

and produced by Richard Brennan and Timothy White. The film underwent pre-production in November 1994-January 1995. Shooting took place between January and March 1995, followed by post-production between March and September 1995. The film had a budget of $3.5 million and was filmed in and around Sydney's

Rozelle Hospital The Callan Park Hospital for the Insane (1878 – 1914) is a heritage-listed former insane asylum, which was subsequently, for a time, used as a college campus, located in the grounds of Callan Park, an area on the shores of Iron Cove in Lilyfi ...

. Bruno Lawrence was originally cast in the role of Errol, the security guard, but during shooting he was taken to the hospital suffering from chest pains and was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.

took over the role of Errol. Lawrence died a few months later, on 10 June 1995. The closing credits of ''Cosi'' include an onscreen dedication to Lawrence.

Critical reception

In 1996, Cosi was the 3rd most popular Australian film at the Australian Box Office. As at 2010, ''Cosi'' ranked 71 on the list of ''Top 100 Australian feature films of all time'' as compiled by

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

, writing in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', described ''Cosi'' as "fast, funny and cleverly acted". He also said it was "warm, generous, sentimental and expert entertainment." The curator at

Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

said it "has a likeable humour, appealing characters and a compassionate heart. It's not really about mental illness so much as a tribute to the healing power of performance, and the theatre in general." Not all reviews were positive.

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...

described ''Cosi'' as "a half-baked amalgamation of '' A Midwinter's Tale'' and '' Shine'', and doesn't excel as either a comedy or a drama." ''Cinephilia'' described ''Cosi'' as "a concatenation of caricatures in a predictable story of plucky determination and treacly redemption."

Accolades

Box office

''Cosi'' grossed $2,896,980 at the box office in Australia. Although ''Cosi'' was the first Australian film to receive major pre-production investment by Miramax, it did not fare well critically or commercially in America, screening for less than two weeks between 11 and 24 April 1997.

References

External links

*
''Cosi''
at Oz Movies
Australian Screen, ''Cosi''

by Joanne Ladiges {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosi (Film) Films set in Australia Australian comedy films Films shot in Sydney 1996 films Films directed by Mark Joffe Australian films based on plays Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in fiction Miramax films Films based on Così fan tutte 1990s English-language films