Alexandra's Project

Alexandra's Project
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Rolf de Heer
Produced by	Rolf de Heer Domenico Procacci Julie Ryan
Written by	Rolf de Heer
Starring	Gary Sweet Helen Buday
Music by	Graham Tardif
Cinematography	Ian Jones
Edited by	Tania Nehme
Production company	Vertigo Productions Pty. Ltd. The Australian Film Commission Fandango Australia Hendon Studios Palace Films The South Australian Film Corporation
Distributed by	Palace Films 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release dates	8 May 2003 (2003-05-08) (Australia)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Box office	A$844,494 (Australia)

Alexandra's Project is a 2003 Australian drama/thriller film written and directed by Rolf de Heer and starring Gary Sweet and Helen Buday.

Plot

Upon returning home from work on his birthday, Steve (Gary Sweet), a middle class husband and father of two, finds the house dark and his family not home. He notices a chair, his television set, and a video tape obviously set out for his viewing. He turns the TV and VCR on, and begins to watch a tape made for him by his wife, Alexandra (Helen Buday). The first clip shows his wife and children wishing him a happy birthday, but after the kids leave the room, Alexandra begins a striptease, and it appears to be nothing more than a birthday gift. As it progresses, however, it becomes clear that the tape is designed to humiliate and torture Steve for marital problems that Alexandra has been stewing about for years. As part of her show, Alexandra feigns breast cancer, has sex with their neighbor, and tells Steve that neither she nor their two children are ever coming home.^[1]

Cast

• Gary Sweet as Steve
• Helen Buday as Alexandra
• Bogdan Koca as Bill
• Jack Christie as Sam
• Samantha Knigge as Emma
• Eileen Darley as Christine
• Geoff Revell as Rodney
• Philip Spruce as Taxi Driver
• Nathan O'Keefe as Man at Door
• Peter Greena as Chairman
• Martha Lott as Female Worker
• Cindy Elliott as Female Worker
• Gemma Falk as Female Worker
• Nicole Daniel as Female Worker
• Duncan Graham as Male Worker
• Michael Ienna as Male Worker

Production

De Heer originally wanted to make the film so he could use a single location and use up various fragments of ideas he had accumulated.^[2]

Release

The film's World premiere was 14 February 2003 as part of the Berlin International Film Festival^[3] and was released regularly as Cinema release on 8 May 2003 in Australia.

Box office

Alexandra's Project took $844,494 at the box office in Australia^[4] which is equivalent to $996,503 in 2009 dollars.

Reception

Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes assessed the film at 50% on its tomatometer with an average 5.4/10 rating.^[5] The Cultural Post gave it three out of five stars.^[1]

Accolades

See also

• Cinema of Australia
• South Australian Film Corporation

References

External links

• Official website
• Alexandra's Project at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Alexandra's Project at the Internet Movie Database