Madeline's Madeline

Authenticity and imagination blur when a teenage girl’s unique experience becomes the creative obsession of a theatre director.

The dynamics between neurodivergent teen Madeline (Helena Howard) and her mother Regina (Miranda July) are fraught, complex and occasionally volatile.

Away from her mother’s watchful eye, Madeline thrives as a member of a prestigious physical theatre group, under the guidance of the charismatic and alluring director Evangeline (Molly Parker). When Evangeline observes Madeline and Regina, her creative interest is piqued, sending the whole theatre troupe into morally ambiguous waters.

Curator’s note

Strained mother-daughter relationships are familiar terrain for Miranda July’s performance work.

In her 1996 video artwork Atlanta, July played dual roles as a mother and daughter overzealously preparing for the Atlanta Olympics. A couple of years later, July’s first full-length performance work Love Diamond also centred on a mother and daughter. Twenty years on, there are glimmers of both performances in her portrayal of Regina, with her strained efforts and awkward failures to connect with her daughter.

Helena Howard might be the star as Madeline, but the film is truly an ensemble piece. With an uneasy love triangle at its heart – familial, professional and perhaps more – the film’s three leads are called to deliver nuanced and gripping performances. Each actor more than answers that call.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)