Melbourne Premiere with Director Richard Lowenstein,
Astor Theatre, Saturday 8 June 2019
I felt really privileged to be asked along with great mate Bruce to see the premiere of Richard Lowenstein‘s ‘Mystify’ in Melbourne yesterday afternoon, in the company of many, many lovely folk who knew Michael Hutchence on a personal level.
The screening at the Astor Theatre was bookended by a short intro from Lowenstein and a brief Q&A at the end, after which Richard received a standing ovation.
Undoubtedly a treasure of a film, that Lowenstein poignantly called his ‘personal apology’ to Michael for not being attentive and picking up on the signs. He jokingly referred to the project as a ‘(Slave) labour of love’ saying he would’ve made more money on unemployment benefits over the past two years than he did working on the documentary!
Every aspect of the project was so evocatively and sensitively handled by Richard… Unlike the tabloids efforts, I thought it very telling that there were no villains, just a sense of empathy for all involved…
In my opinion, going the archival route and getting the women in Michael’s life to come forward and contribute their voiceovers and individual perspectives was an absolute masterstroke and helped paint a far more realistic, intimate and empathetic picture of the fragility of the man.
Lowenstein also remarked that for a long while it looked as if the whole project was going to have to be done without any INXS tracks but once Richard had shown Tiger Lily a rough cut and got her blessing, she emailed all the key players including labels, management, and the band, and then magically the music was there for him to use.
For all those present yesterday, and especially those who knew Michael personally, it was a tremendously intimate and forthright telling of his story, told from the perspective of family, friends and lovers… and emotionally, left many feeling like they had been hit by a freight train.
If you were ever touched by the brilliance of Michael Hutchence, and craved a fair, just and unbiased appraisal of the man – then ‘Mystify’ is the one you’ll want to see. Highly, highly recommended! Thank you Bruce for including me!
#michaelhutchence #richardlowenstein
As an added bonus, after Richard was done hugging all the important people… in particular Duke, the Astor Cat, he kindly signed a couple of posters to us.
