An unfortunate consequence of a quiet spell in the boudoir is the disheartening realisation that everyone else is getting some but you. Adding insult to injury at these particularly sensitive times is a sexed-up ad culture that pitches nasal spray and chicken burgers as legitimate means to get your end away. When it comes to sex, the sublime often verges on the ridiculous, as writer/director Sarah Watt is only too happy to remind us in her excellent existential comedy, My Year Without Sex.
Sex might be everywhere, but apart from an aborted birthday quickie at the start of the film, there’s none to be had by poor old Natalie (Sacha Horler) and Ross (Matt Day), the couple at the centre of the story. During a pap test, Natalie collapses with a brain aneurism and undergoes emergency surgery. When she comes home shaved, scarred and more than a little unsteady, she’s under doctor's orders to err on the side of caution and avoid any activities that might provoke a relapse. Orgasms are a no-no, and without the prospect of a happy ending, the couple abstains altogether.
The months roll by, playfully earmarked by raunchy subtitles with accompanying stock footage of the 'Foreplay', 'Going Down’, 'Doggie Style’ variety. Family life resumes its hectic pace, though when daughter Ruby (Portia Bradley)’s teeth start falling out and the tooth fairy fails to materialise, it becomes apparent that something's driving Mum and Dad to distraction – and it’s not just the big horny elephant in the room.
The unpredictability of Natalie’s recovery and Ross’s uncertain work future make their lack of sex but one of their worries in this tumultuous year. They grapple with the heavy duty issues of faith, fate and the fragility of life, but do so with the benefit of Watt’s characteristic restraint and gentle humour. Disarming her subjects with self-deprecation and witty asides, Watt exposes the insecurities that lurk beneath the surface; and you share the characters’ pain as they fret about the things that are sent to try us.
Can you make your own luck? Can you rely on faith as a crutch to get you through? Is a life lived carefully a live lived to the full? Does anyone ever win more than $2 from scratchies?
It’s generally a backhanded compliment to call an actress 'brave" but Sacha Horler is exactly that, in the best sense of the word. She’s completely convincing as a young wife and mother forced to re-evaluate her life. Matt Day makes a welcome return to the screen as the bemused Ross, a nice guy desperately trying to carry the burden of responsibility as the screws tighten ever more. Support characters are pitch-perfect, especially Jonathan Segat as the young son Louis, who nails the awkwardness of a boy on the cusp of adulthood. And on the subject of casting, keep your eyes peeled for a loopy cameo from Watt’s husband, William McInnes (here’s a little something to help you spot it).
