Tribeca ‘The Justice Of Bunny King’ Review: Essie Davis Is Indomitable In This Heartbreaking But Hopeful Struggle Of A Mother
The thing about attending film festivals is that you don’t always get to watch every single title on your list. The odds are slightly higher if it is a virtual one, because you can go on a marathon, sleep be damned. In the final hours of the Tribeca Film Festival this week, I frantically toggled between my list (on an excel sheet, no less) and the available titles, to see which film I wanted to watch more. And I am so glad that one of my decisions led me to watch The Justice Of Bunny King, the debut feature of New Zealand based filmmaker Gaysorn Thavat. The film stars Australian actor Essie Davis (Babadook, Game Of Thrones) and New Zealand actor Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit). Thavat’s core team for this film comprises some talented women—producer Emma Slade, screenwriter Sophie Henderson, cinematographer Ginny Loane and editor Cushla Dillon. On screen too, the film is about an indomitable woman, a mother in crisis, making her stand before a system that is too rigid to understand her motherhood.
The cast of the film, Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie received a Special Jury Mention for the Nora Ephron Award at the Tribeca Film Festival Jury Awards.
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What’s The Justice Of Bunny King about?
Bunny’s life is an absolute mess, but she’s smiles and toils through most of it. During the day, she washes car windshields on the street, earning just enough to get by. She spends the nights on her sister’s couch, taking care of her sister’s kids and home as well to pay for her keep. The money from her job, she saves so that she can buy a house of her own, and finally take custody of her two children, Reuben and Shannon, who are currently under foster care. Bunny can only seen them on approved days at the family services centre, and even those visits are time bound.
When her daughter’s birthday is around the corner, Bunny promises little Shannon that she will take her to the pool, and celebrate the day at their new home. However, a series of events complicate the matter, rendering Bunny even more homeless than she was before, and threatening her visitation approval for her daughter’s special day. What’s more, she is now also concerned for the safety of her niece, Tonya, who needs Bunny’s protection and help.
Homeless she may be, but Bunny is strong-willed, resourceful and will go to any lengths to keep her promise to Shannon and Reuben, and protect Tonya. The rest of the film is about just how much of mess she makes in the process, how she tries to dig herself and everyone else out it, and how it is a mother’s love and determination up against the very rigid law enforcement rules that don’t understand the delicateness of a mother’s promise.
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The Justice Of Bunny King is heartbreaking yet funny at times, but human and hopeful always
One of my favourite scenes is Bunny’s revenge on her brother-in-law, a hilarious car sabotage moment, which is made funnier a few scenes later when she steals the same car because she needs it for her plan. It’s amazing how in the film, Bunny’s best laid plans fail because her morals get in the way. You wish she’d just set them aside and put herself first for a change, but it’s probably that maternal instinct in her, the one that shines so bright but the rest of the world ignores as they indicate to her that she’s a bad mother.
It is these criss-crossing moments that shuffle play with your emotions, going from humour as she works out some of her schemes, to heartbreak because she has to fall back just as she reaches the finish line.
What I liked about The Justice Of Bunny King is that it doesn’t want you to feel pity for Bunny, because she herself doesn’t rest or take a moment to feel pity for herself either. She’s constantly “go, go, go”, trying to do some ‘jugaad’ as we Indians would call it, to make a way. She takes on the additional responsibility of her niece, but not for a second do we see her bogged down by it. Her spirit does not break until the very end, and even then it’s barely a scratch. It’s a trait we’ve come so often to associate with mothers, this resilience, and it makes you, the audience, even more frustrated at the family services who cannot see, until very late, Bunny’s dedicated motherhood which only wants good for her kids.
In a post-Covid world, this helplessness that Bunny feels can be a relatable ordeal for so many of people who have had to follow rules, which meant being separated from their loved ones, sometimes not knowing where they are, or how they are, and wondering if you’ll ever see them again. And while battling all these emotions, people have been on the go, just like Bunny, rushing around to make arrangements for medical help or money, not even getting a spare moment to accept defeat or rest, or think for themselves.
Despite this, the rational part of your brain tells you that the family services are also simply doing their job. In fact, through Bunny’s niece Tonya’s story, you can understand both the pros and cons of Bunny’s kids being in foster care and not living a semi-homeless life with Bunny.
Also Read: Tribeca ‘See For Me’ Review: A Predictable Home Invasion Thriller That Works Thanks To Its Cast, Concept And Technology!
Essie Davis is incredible and evokes powerful emotion with her Bunny act
Essie Davis as Bunny just crushes your heart and builds it up with her performance, elevating the film to a level where it evokes the intended emotions and then some more.
I really loved Thomasin McKenzie in Jojo Rabbit, and in Bunny King (rabbit, bunny!), she is just as competent. She utters this one line outside the family services office, to her parents, and event that much is loaded with heartbreak and becomes so powerful.
Verdict
The Justice Of Bunny King tells a heartbreaking story of motherhood, morality and resilience up against all odds. It reminded me of another festival film, I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking) that I watched earlier this year at the SXSW Film Festival. Fuelled by Essie Davis’ strong performance, this is quite the feature debut for filmmaker Gaysorn Thavat, that is sure to touch the hearts of everyone in the audience.
This review is part of our Hauterrfly x Tribeca Film Festival coverage. Read more here!
