Cosi

Lewis' cast is comprised of the usual suspects. Roy a manic esthete with a thirst for stage exposure, the painfully shy but suicidal Ruth, Doug the young foul-mouthed pyromaniac and Julie, the recovering drug addict played by a svelte Toni Collette almost unrecognizable from her 'Muriel' role. Cuckoos Nest this is not although the film does lend itself to the same theme. That united with people with whom we would otherwise not associate for a common cause, imperfect as they may be is uplifting in itself. Dealing with wilful mental patients like Roy and the violently agressive Cherry who have their own ideas about stage direction, Lewis fears for his own safety but before he quits suddenly realises that for all their idiosyncracies he really does like the misfits and decides to give it his best shot. Having worked in a psychiatric institution I found the portrayals well researched and not over the top as has been suggested. Also endearing was the head nurse, Errol who despite his burnt out approach and not looking out of place with a fag in his mouth really did show he cared. My only gripe is that Toni Collette was underused especially with that marvellous voice.Well, more kudos to the aussies for a job well done, and this from a kiwi! Save this one for a rainy day, or better yet give the disappointing MI2 a miss and rent Cosi out for the night. You wont be disappointed.


Fantastic...I love this movie!   January 29, 2006
Karen V. (Manassas, VA United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a wonderfully touching movie! I've watched it several times over and simply love it each time. It's funny...it's sad...it's human...it's life. As moving as this story is, I don't recommend it for children due to the language. On my scale of buy, or not to buy...definitely a buy!

This is the story of a young man (Lewis), an amateur theatre director, who's just having the devil of a time figuring out his life. He looses his job and reluctantly takes a position as an activities director in a government-run program for the rehabilitation of people with varying degrees of mental illness.

As activites director, Lewis is tasked with organizing a seriously dysfunctional group of mentally ill individuals to put on a show to justify the funding and existance of the program. He's absolutely horrified when introduced to his "charges" and wants nothing to do with the project. He's persuaded to take on the challenge, and the adventure of a lifetime begins. As hard as Lewis tries to stay emotionally detached from his cast, he finds he can't help but let them into his life. To his surprise, the closer he gets to them the more he learns about himself, his own life, and life in general.

For their presentation, the group decides they want to do a play and pick Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte. I don't think this particular production was quite what Mozart had in mind for his play! What could go wrong? Oh my! What couldn't go wrong?!?! Everything you can think of happens during the rehearsals and the actual presentation of the play. The actors are trained well though, and the show goes on to finish...and...what a finish it is!

The sadness, humor and frailty of each character portrayed in this movie is just fantastic. The acting is superb. The directing excellent. This is just an all around good movie.


Mozart was never funnier   May 7, 2005
Craig During (Long Beach, CA United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

The Australian film industry gave us this little treasure about a young man who can't keep a job. His tenure at an insane asylum is cut short by an out-of-control patient, who is only one of MANY - you will never forget Roy! The Opera Cosi Fan Tutti is presented in such a fun way that you almost wish you could see the whole thing. The 'heart-warming' ending doesn't detract too much, but be sure to stay ALL the way through the credits.


A rare treasure in a sea of bad Aussie movies! ;)   December 30, 2002
Stefanie (Seattle, WA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Cosi is an absolutely fantastic find in the sea of Australian movies that are often total trash! A truly honest and original film, it creates several hilarious psychiatric patients including a pyromaniac to make Cosi a captivating story that really does entertain you for a couple of hours.

Based on the play written by Louis Nowra, Cosi is the uplifting story of how a group of psychiatric hospital tenants come together to perform an Italian opera Cosi Fan Tutte (Mozart) against the initial thoughts of the amateur director who has agreed to help the patients "come out of their shells". This is a tale of how "Jerry" (as one of the patient labels him) learns to accept these people and eventually he discovers and reveals to the audience that although these people are considered "crazy lunatics", they are, in essence, no more crazy than the people on the 'outside'.

This movie is for those looking for an original, creative film that guarantees laughs and smiles as well as entertaining characters and good ol' Aussie humour.