Age of Consent

Spoilers!

AGE OF CONSENT caused a bit of fuss when it was released in 1969.  It seems that U.S. and British distributors felt the need to excise a roll in the hay scene between lead actor James Mason and an actress named Clarissa Kaye, and some non-sexual nudity sported by a young English actress named Helen Mirren. I'm sure the very premise of this story - a fifty-ish artist retreats to Australia to reclaim his inspiration and finds it in a teenager who becomes his subject - ruffled a few feathers.  And look at the title! Listen to the lyrics of that (terrible) theme song!  Imagine how audiences of today would react!

The film has what some might consider icky implications.  Honestly at times it does flirt with a certain creepiness.  Bradley Morahan (Mason), loosely modeled after Australian artist Norman Lindsay, upon whose novel Peter Yeldham's screenplay is based, is a successful bohemian who bed hops and complains of alimony payments.  He's plateaued artistically and feels that spending some time in the Great Barrier Reef, isolated from the noise and temptations of NYC, is just what he needs to create great art again. The island is quiet, with only a few souls milling about.  Perfect.  But here comes Cora (Mirren), a native who scrounges a living by selling the fishes she catches and the chickens she steals. She's a perfect specimen for his canvas, a true work of art herself.  Pity that summer dress of hers gets in the way.

Indeed, Mirren appears nude a few times in AGE OF CONSENT.  A young Mirren.  She was actually in her early twenties but plays an underage who is "protected" by her boozy grandmother (Neva Carr Glyn), a loathsome old coot who pilfers her money.  She's convinced Bradley and Cora are doing more than painting and posing.  They aren't, and until the very last scene their relationship is quite innocent, though a sexual charge is usually in the air.

But as presented by director Michael Powell, the film is mostly just a silly tease.  Nothing within a mile of Nabokov.  Bradley does not suffer any harm for his tasks.  There is no evil to be found in Cora, no malicious schemes to ruin his life.  The story could've played that way.  Rather, AGE OF CONSENT is content with a leisurely document of a peaceful life in a beautiful location.   Hannes Staudlinger's photography is beautiful, echoing the stunning vistas.  The film plays as a pleasant day to day, with mild comic subplots, mainly with Paul's so-called friend Nat (Jack MacGowran), a loutish playboy chased by a few alimony payments himself.  His romantic scrapes are amusing (one quite un-P.C.) but ultimately time wasting, making what should've been a tight hour and a half limp a bit beyond.

Mason, with his hybrid English/Aussie accent, is fine.  Mirren is OK.  And yes, gorgeous.   Why are you watching this movie? The scenery? The cool '60s vibe? Great underwater photography? The fact that it is coolly enjoyable and downright relaxing? The chance to see Mirren in the buff? All understandable.  Maybe you're curious to see master director Powell's penultimate film.  On that count, you will very likely be disappointed.  This is hardly a fitting screen bow for the talent behind THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP, PEEPING TOM, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, and other great works.