Mouse

The summer of 2002 changes everything for shy Arkansas teenager Minnie in this critically lauded queer coming-of-age marvel co-starring Sophie Okonedo.

Minnie and Callie are chalk and cheese. Callie is the star of every school play and has her sights set on Juilliard after graduation. Minnie hasn’t quite figured out what she wants to be yet, and has always been content cheering her best friend on from the sidelines. When a tragic accident tears their friendship apart just before the start of senior year, Minnie embarks on a close friendship with Callie’s elegant mother, Helen – a complicated dynamic that causes friction between Minnie and her own perpetually frazzled working mother, Barbara.

The third feature collaboration from husband-and-wife duo Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson (Saint Frances; Ghostlight), Mouse is a heartfelt and deeply humanistic portrayal of the complexities of navigating loss at any age. The film deftly shifts between wincing humour, sincerity and heartbreak thanks to committed performances from Katherine Mallen Kupferer as Minnie, Sophie Okonedo (Clarissa, MIFF 2026) as Helen and Tara Mallen (Kupferer’s real-life mother, whom she also appeared alongside in Ghostlight) as Barbara, while David Hyde Pierce contributes a poignant turn as Minnie’s emotionally intuitive drama teacher.

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival