He Ain't Heavy

Animal Kingdom star Leila George rejoins her mother Greta Scacchi (The Player, MIFF 1992; Looking for Alibrandi) in this devastating Australian drama about a family riven by drug addiction.

Pushed to the limit by years of trying to safeguard against the mayhem of her meth-addicted brother Max (Sam Corlett, The Dry), Jade (George) snaps one fateful night. Following a car crash that nearly claims the life of their mother Bev (Scacchi), she kidnaps him and retreats to the empty home owned by their grandparents in the desperate hope that this dramatic intervention will force a circuit-breaking rehabilitation. But when Bev arrives unannounced, bearing terrible news, this already-bubbling-over pressure cooker explodes.

Expanding on his short film I’m Not Hurting You, the gripping debut feature from Perth-based writer/director David Vincent Smith packs a punch because it’s informed by his own experience of navigating the trauma of addiction within his family. As is often the case when cinema bares the soul of its filmmakers – and as evidenced by He Ain’t Heavy having won four WA Screen Culture Awards, including Innovation in Narrative Feature Film and Outstanding Achievement in Performance (for Corlett) – such potent vulnerability makes for compelling viewing.

“A blazing debut feature … The rawness of Smith’s work and its honesty is disarming … As harrowing as it is human.” – The Curb