Judy and Punch
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMirrah Foulkes
Screenplay byMirrah Foulkes
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyStefan Duscio
Edited byDany Cooper
Music byFrançois Tétaz
Production
companies
Distributed byMadman Entertainment
Release dates
  • 27 January 2019 (2019-01-27) (Sundance)
  • 21 November 2019 (2019-11-21) (Australia)
Running time
105 minutes
Country
  • Australia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$197,719[1]

Judy and Punch is a 2019 Australian period black comedy film written and directed by Mirrah Foulkes in her feature directorial debut, based on a story by Foulkes, Eddy Moretti, Lucy Punch, and Tom Punch. Starring Mia Wasikowska, Damon Herriman, Tom Budge, Benedict Hardie, Gillian Jones, Terry Norris, Brenda Palmer, and Lucy Velik, the film follows the titular couple struggling to resurrect their marionette show in the small town of Seaside. After an intoxicated Punch accidentally kills his daughter and assaults Judy, she recruits a group of outcast heretics to seek vengeance against Punch and the townspeople.

Judy and Punch premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2019, where it was nominated for the World Cinema Jury Prize. The film was theatrically released in Australia on 21 November 2019, to positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Judy and Punch are puppeteers in the town of Seaside, England who, alongside their baby daughter, are attempting to bring their marionette show back into the public eye. Judy wins the crowd with her puppetry but Punch suffers from a drinking problem. While chasing a little dog that has stolen a string of sausages, Punch trips and accidentally throws their baby out a high window killing her. Judy is incredulous when Punch casually admits to dropping their baby out a window, then she punches him, and he retaliates with his walking stick, beating her.

Punch believes he has killed Judy, hides her body, reports the crime to the local constable, and implicates their two elderly servants, Scaramouche and Maude, who had raised Judy since she was a child. Maude and Scaramouche are arrested and Punch tells the whole town of their guilt of murder and subsequent cannibalism of his daughter.

Judy is found unconscious and taken to live in a secret society of outcasts in the forest. When she recovers she swears vengeance on Punch, part of which is terrorising him, including by visiting Punch in their house with a large puppet representing a ghost that demands he repent and clear the name of the falsely accused couple or a worse fate will come to him.

On the hanging scaffold, Punch appears to recant, saying that the pair are not guilty, but he continues his speech saying that it is not they but the Devil who is guilty and who is being dealt with by the hanging and he works the crowd into a bloodlust. However, when he pulls the trapdoor lever, the pair fall to the ground as their ropes have been cut. Judy and the forest troupe arrive. Punch is lassoed about each wrist and hung from the scaffold while Judy approaches him with a large axe, saying serious crime deserves serious punishment, and she cuts his hands off.

Some while later, Judy is seen living at her house with her companions. Punch is confined to an insane asylum where he puts on a mad Punch and Judy puppet show watched through the window by a few people on the street outside.

Cast

Production

In October 2017, it was announced Mia Wasikowska had joined the cast of the film, with Mirrah Foulkes directing from a screenplay she wrote.[2] In April 2018, Damon Herriman joined the cast of the film.[3]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 27 January 2019.[4] Shortly after, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[5] It was released in Australia on 21 November 2019,[6] and is scheduled to be released in the United States on 5 June 2020.[7]

Reception

Judy and Punch received positive reception from critics. It holds a 77% rating from 138 critic reviews on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Judy & Punch revisits classic characters from a fresh perspective, marking debuting writer-director Mirrah Foulkes as a filmmaking talent to watch."[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average rating of 59 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

Accolades

Award Category Subject Result Ref
AACTA Awards
(9th)		 Best Film Michele Bennett Nominated [10]
Nash Edgerton Nominated
Danny Gabai Nominated
Best Direction Mirrah Foulkes Nominated
Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted Nominated
Best Actor Damon Herriman Won
Best Actress Mia Wasikowska Nominated
Best Editing Dany Cooper Nominated
Best Original Music Score François Tétaz Won
Best Production Design Jo Ford Nominated
Best Costume Design Edie Kurzer Nominated
APRA Music Awards of 2020 Best Soundtrack Album François Tétaz Won [11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Judy & Punch". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Frater, Patrick (26 October 2017). "Vice Media Backing Mia Wasikowska in Judy and Punch". Variety. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Damon Herriman joins the cast of Judy and Punch as cameras roll". if.com.au. 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  4. ↑ "Sundance Unveils Politics-Heavy Lineup Featuring Ocasio-Cortez Doc, Feinstein Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  5. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (13 May 2019). "Samuel Goldwyn Films Nabs Mia Wasikowska's 'Judy & Punch' for North America (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Judy and Punch". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "Judy and Punch". Samuel Goldwyn Films. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Judy & Punch". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Judy & Punch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Winners & Nominees". www.aacta.org. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "Screen Music Awards: Full List of Winners & Nominees". APRA AMCOS Australia. 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "2020 Screen Music Awards winners announced". APRA AMCOS Australia. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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