UNDER COVER. Documentary. Directed by Sue Thomson. Narrated by Margot Robbie. Rated PG (Mild themes and coarse language). 91 min.
The homelessness of hundreds of thousands of Australians goes unrecognised, and the fastest growing group of homeless is women over 50. The documentary relates the experiences first-hand of 10 women drawn from a range of social backgrounds. They include a survivor of domestic violence (involving mental and physical abuse), a displaced immigrant, an ex-advertising executive, and a woman forced to live in the street. The cases selected are from diverse walks of life and illustrate the impact of homelessness on women in many different ways. The film screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival before limited public release (see below). Sue Thomson directed, wrote and produced the film, and spent three years making it.
The film title is instructive. It refers to people who are homeless, but who at times employ a different narrative to protect themselves. Wanting not to be recognised as homeless, they choose to live their life ‘under cover’, rather than be noticed. Each of the 10 women has endured homelessness after travelling a different route to it. The women’s situations are various, and the documentary powerfully illustrates the diversity of life for the group of 10 women, who were interviewed. Women in this movie are homeless because they are financially disadvantaged, have been deserted by people they thought they could trust, are victims of unfair or unlawful eviction, struggle with extreme poverty, and are victims of physical and/or psychological trauma.
The documentary makes it abundantly clear that homelessness is not always visible, and the film presents a cogent case for changes in policy, law and public opinion for both ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ homelessness. It gives dramatic accounts of women in crisis that lay bare the extent of their personal vulnerability. Feelings of freedom coexist with deep depression, and loneliness exists amid feelings of shame.
The film cinematically inhabits the world of each of the women who are interviewed. Margot Robbie narrates the film unobtrusively, and the 10 women speak meaningfully for themselves. The documentary explicitly targets the flaws in Australian society that are related to women’s experience of homelessness. It attempts to deal with the struggles of the women in a moving and optimistic – but sometimes too optimistic – way. For one woman who expresses joy in finding complete freedom in homelessness, one cannot help but think of Janis Joplin’s legendary line in song: ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose’.
While presenting an empathic profile of a group under strain, it is the sadness of women’s predicaments that surfaces most strongly. However, the film never loses sight of its concern for the welfare of homeless elderly women, a group not normally considered to be especially needy in current discussions about infrastructure housing in Australian society.
The documentary itself is a major stimulus to discussion. It redefines homelessness in Australia in important ways, and draws attention to the urgent need to access information about homelessness that exists among women who are ageing. Through images enabled by cinema, the documentary offers an educational vehicle for change that connects to homelessness, cognitively and emotionally. In arguing for social change, the film seems especially relevant at a time when women in need are facing the challenges of Covid, and its fall-out.
This is a film that brings the experiences of wounded women to public notice, and offers a case to view housing as a construction of what ‘home’ should mean for women under stress, and to act.
Rialto Distribution
Released 6 October 2022, for limited exposure at participating cinemas:MELBOURNE: Classic Cinemas, Elsternwick; Lido Cinemas, Hawthorn; Cameo Cinemas, Belgrave; Cinema Nova, Carlton; and Palace Westgarth
SYDNEY: Ritz Cinemas, Randwick; Palace Chauvel Cinema; and Palace Byron Bay
CANBERRA: Palace Electric
BRISBANE: New Farm and Palace Barracks
ADELAIDE: Palace Nova Eastend
PERTH: Luna Palace Leederville
TASMANIA: State Cinema, Hobart and Reading Cinemas, Devonport