Following on from STARBURST favourites The Greasy Strangler (2016) and An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn (2018) and criminally underseen [adult swim] series Tropical Cop Tales, writer/director Jim Hosking gives us a mythical slant on the meeting of two music legends.
Arriving on the Mull of Kintyre on his own in a row boat, Stevie (Gil Gex) is met on the beach by Paul (Sky Elobar) to stay at his “Scottish cottage”. The pair plan to perform a duet on record, but first, they must get to know each other. Partaking in some of Paul’s ‘doobie woobie’ and eating ready meals created ‘by the wife’, they argue, visit sheep, and skinny dip in the sea – however, Stevie’s lack of swimming skills adds another level of ‘drama’.
Fans of Hosking’s work will not be disappointed here with the extended dialogue exchanges (often infuriatingly fantastic) and deliberate enunciation. It’s these elements we love about the director’s work, and Ebony and Ivory delivers in abundance. It’s an almost theatrical two-hander that gives both actors their time to shine. Following his penile humiliation in The Greasy Strangler, it’s comforting to see Elobar is rewarded with a huge, pendulous appendage here. His attempt at a Liverpudlian accent is also brilliantly terrible, but accuracy isn’t the point.
Anyone coming into this expecting a gripping biopic will be left scratching their heads (or giving up), but there’s so much to unpick and enjoy that it deserves the fanatical audience his feature debut has accrued. Once again, composer Andrew Hung provides musical accompaniment in his own inimitable style.
With each new project, Hosking cements himself as the closest thing we have to the likes of Spike Milligan these days. His absurdist humour, bizarre scenarios, and surreal dialogue exchanges are to be cherished. Of course, one man’s dream is another’s nightmare, and Ebony and Ivory is likely to leave those not attuned to his wavelength cold. Us? We’re happy to live in Hosking’s world for as long as possible.
EBONY AND IVORY screened at Fantastic Fest 2024.
