Two takes on SHIT
As part of this year’s MWFF Critics Lab, our fabulous critics were tasked with reviewing a film that screened at the festival. They then worked with mentors in one-on-one feedback sessions to develop their preliminary ideas and channel their critical perspectives into a review. In this article, Ruby Box and Shantal Hayden offer their views on SHIT (2022, dir. Susie Dee, Trudy Hellier).
Rebelliously SHIT by Ruby Box
What is a woman supposed to be? What are women supposed to be on screen? When we see rebellious women in the media, they are often palatable, well-maintained, forgivable. What would it mean if they were none of these things? If a film’s ‘strong female protagonist’ was rough, loud, and unlikeable? SHIT triples such a proposition. Adapted from Patricia Cornelius’ play of the same name, SHIT confronts the complexities of womanhood, from the margins of poverty. Helmed by Susie Dee and Trudy Hellier, the film utilises a relatively simple concept to convey a litany of underrepresented themes. Detained as a result of an initially ambiguous incident; Bobby (Sarah Ward), Sam (Peta Brady), and Billy (Nicci Wilks) are left to discuss their lives leading up to tonight. These are rough, loud, self-dependent women. They fight, they swear, they stir the pot. The complex relationships between the trinity, as well as their relationship to the world, are what centres the piece. These connections are founded through jumping from home to home in their youth, through mistreatment and lack of warmth.The quiet rage and the loud rage of womanhood is seen, heard, and felt through the spectacula rperformances from Ward, Brady, and Wilks. Portrayals of such distinct, yet underrepresented personalities. The protagonists are entirely free from the archetypes forced upon the female and gender non-conforming characters.
Bobby, Sam, and Billy take turns ganging up on each other. Whether it’s blame, taunts or ignorance, the relationship between the three companions runs hot and cold. There’s hardly a second to breathe between Billy pushing Sam against a fence and the pair laughing together. A language is shared, and an understanding exists despite their unsavoury treatment of each other. The piece’s origins on the stage are unmistakable. Dense, snappy dialogue and minimal movement between locations give the impression that few changes have been made to bring Cornelius’ work to the screen. Through flashbacks to earlier in the night, audiences are given the opportunity to pull back the layers of the incident that resulted in the group being detained. From the chicken wire cell, CCTV cameras keep an eye on the protagonists and serve as a less-than-subtle stand-in for the system that the detainees begrudge.
As impoverished, foulmouthed women, Bobby, Sam, and Billy know now that ‘nothing’s gonna save’ them. SHIT gives audiences the opportunity to listen. As they navigate conversations around blame, bodies and what a woman is supposed to be, we might learn a thing or two. SHIT isn’t going to leave you feeling hopeful about the world. It isn’t going to wrap itself up and offer you a moral to put in your pocket and carry home. That isn’t what life is for Bobby, Sam, and Billy, nor the other women depicted in the film. Life is still SHIT, and takes a couple of goes to figure out.
Shit: a unique way to experience societies most neglected women by Shantal Hayden
SHIT is an unapologetic story that explores classism and defiance of societal norms. The film follows three women (Billy, Bobby and Sam) who have found themselves in police custody after committing a horrific crime. Adapted from a play by Patricia Cornelius, the film delves into the struggles and experiences of these women as they navigate a society that often disregards and marginalises them. The women in the film come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have limited opportunities which contribute to their hopelessness and frustration, ultimately leading them to commit the crime that lands them in police custody.
The performances of Peta Brady, Sarah Ward, and Nicci Wilks are uniformly excellent, with each of the three lead actresses bringing depth and nuance to their roles. The film is unflinching in its portrayal of the violence and trauma that these women have experienced, but it also offers moments of humour and tenderness that serve to humanise the characters and make their struggles all the more tragic.
The film alternates between noisy flashbacks of the night before and the more reflective conversations of the women in their cell. These flashbacks serve to fill in the blanks and offer clues as to how these women ended up in this situation. They also provided a welcome break from the intensity of the present-day and give the viewer a chance to collect their thoughts before moving on to the next scene.
SHIT was brutally honest and unapologetic especially when it came down to the way these women tore into themselves and into the way society treats them. I found myself being challenged by this film, as it explored a lot of themes and ideas that I grew up with. The concept that a woman must be quiet, not loud or that she cannot swear and must be kind. I hated these ideas, so having moments where the women were uncomfortably ripping them apart was empowering. To have a woman say ‘who are you to tell me i’m f***ing nothing, or’ to scream and cry- I was silently cheering from the comfort of my seat.
But during other points of the film, there were conversations around domestic violence and slut-shaming that were hard to listen to. It surprised me how at times i was able to relate to the characters and I loved that you never really know where their story was going until the very end.
SHIT was definitely an experience, one that forces us to consider the complexities of people and the idea that everyone is fighting their own demons and at the time we may not always know what someone is going through. These women have been mentally, physically and sexually abused their whole lives. They’re women who believe the hard truth that no one is coming to save them and their lives ultimately are shit.