MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS / DIRECTOR: TONY TILSE / SCREENPLAY: DEBORAH COX / STARRING: ESSIE DAVIS, ASHLEIGH CUMMINGS, NATHAN PAGE, RUPERT PENRY-JONES / LIMITED RELEASE
The leap from small screen to big is a route that has been taken by numerous television shows in recent years. Australia is now joining in, promoting Phryne Fisher the titular heroine of the TV detective series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, to her own film: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears.
For those unfamiliar, Phryne (Essie Davis – Game of Thrones, The Babadook), named after the ancient Greek courtesan of breast-baring fame, was born dirt poor in the inner-city slums of Edwardian era Melbourne and through a series of unlikely circumstances found herself raised to a position as a member of the English aristocracy. In the TV show, she returns to Melbourne in 1928 to seek justice for the unsolved murder of her sister, becoming a Lady Detective along the way, as she beds an array of willing men, whilst finding herself becoming emotionally involved with the extremely handsome, and initially extremely married, Detective Inspector Jack Robinson (Nathan Page – Escape from Pretoria). Over three series Phryne and her found family lived, loved, danced, and solved a range of murders which occurred in ever stranger circumstances. The series ended with Phryne taking off in her rusty two-seater plane to return her father, the Baron of Richmond, to his home in England.
In real life it’s been almost five years since we last saw Phryne, although the movie picks up sometime after that farewell at the air-field, as the now much-enlarged budget follows Phryne on a chase sequence through Jerusalem that immediately establishes the feel of the movie – cheeky, irreverent, and with Phryne Fisher firmly in charge. The extended sequence, which feels like it could be the opening to a 1970s era Bond movie, involves motorbikes, a train, and even a donkey – firmly telling the audience that the knowing humour from the TV show has survived the jump to movie format.
Phryne is still a firm believer in justice, and in women determining their own fate, and here she’s come to rescue Shirin Abbas (newcomer Izabella Yena) at the request of Shirin’s uncle Sheikh Kahil Abbas (Kal Naga – Tyrant, Hekayat Beneeshha). The initially reluctant Shirin agrees to allow herself to be rescued, neatly avoiding cliché and throughout the film Shirin retains her own agency and challenges the assumptions of others that she will be subservient and deferential. The remainder of the plot involves mis-understandings, a war-time crime with tragic consequences, a ludicrous McGuffin, and a series of dazzling costumes, designed here by Margot Wilson (The Nightingale), accompanied by a sound track composed by series MD Greg J Walker which evokes the spirit of Lawrence of Arabia in the sweeping desert scenes, whilst including plenty of references to the musical themes he established for key characters in his work for the TV series.
This movie strongly knows what it is – which is a healthy dose of fan-service (the fans did, after all, contribute to a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign that enabled the movie to be made), whilst being just independent enough of the TV series that an unfamiliar cinema-goer would be able to understand what’s going on. With the plot focused on events in British Mandatory Palestine and London, there’s little room for series regulars Hugh (Hugo Johnstone-Burt – San Andreas) or Dot (Ashleigh Cummings – Hounds of Love) but the one scene they do appear in shows that Phryne’s life in Melbourne hasn’t been forgotten.
Whilst we greatly enjoyed this romp which isn’t afraid to call out the British for the mis-handling of their colonial presence in the region, there are some aspects that reduced our enjoyment. Principally, the major mis-step is that it all feels too rushed, as if editorial sacrifices have had to be made to squeeze everything into a running time of a mere hour and forty minutes. As such, Rupert Penry-Jones (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, Whitechapel) is criminally under-used, and we’re not entirely certain why Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter) bothered to show up for her four lines. But these are minor niggles, and in the end this good-hearted romp brings Phryne back, in a thinking-woman’s mystery that expands the world, scope and ambition of Phryne Fisher whilst introducing her to a cinema audience.
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears will be available in the UK via the Alibi TV channel this spring. It is currently on cinematic release in Australia and will be released in selected cinemas and then streaming in the US this March.
