Making a film adaptation of "How to Make Gravy"

It is difficult to know where to start when adapting Paul Kelly's well-known song "How to Make Gravy" into a movie. The song is so big and so bloody Australian that it is difficult to know where to start. This is similar to the situation when "Waltzing Matilda" was adapted.

Both songs are deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of the nation and provide not only instant recognition but also minute but significant details of the narrative. It should come as no surprise that both songs are about lawbreakers and other undesirables, given that Australian culture is rife with tales about such characters as a reflection of our country's convict history. Famously, the subject of Banjo Paterson's bush ballad is a jolly swagman who camped by a billabong but met a not-so-jolly ending: he decided that killing himself was a better option than facing up to his crime of stealing a sheep. Banjo Paterson's bush ballad was written in the 1930s.

In the story "How to Make Gravy," Joe, the main character, is incarcerated for an unnamed crime and is writing a letter to a man named Dan in the days leading up to Christmas. Joe is a less dramatic type of guy, with a gentler demeanor and a forlorn turn of phrase. He is writing the letter in the days leading up to Christmas. He expresses regret for whatever he may have done ("tell 'em all I'm sorry") and talks about the good old days, including hanging out with a woman named Rita ("I love her badly, she's the one who saved me") and preparing gravy using his renowned recipe ("just add flour, salt, and water"). a judicious amount of red wine, and don't forget to add some tomato sauce for sweetness")

The announcement came earlier this month that the song, which has become so famous that it has been designated as a sort of unofficial holiday in its own right, will in fact be adapted into a full-length motion picture by Warner Bros. as well as the recording studio owned by the musician Megan Washington At this early stage, virtually nothing is known about it, including the cast and crew, or even the general atmosphere and tone of the entire production. This indicates that we have the opportunity to have some laughs by speculating about the nature of the How to Make Gravy: The Movie experience and the people whose names will be attached to it. The song 'How to Make Gravy' is already considered an Australian musical classic; the following are three ways in which it could also become a film classic.

Recipe number one: an uplifting musical starring Paul Kelly as the title character, Joe

The renowned troubadour and musician himself takes on the role of the protagonist. This is a rare but not unprecedented screen performance; he played a racist farmer in Rachel Perkins' excellent and elegantly made musical western and morality tale One Night the Moon, which was released in 2001. This iteration of How to Make Gravy: The Movie sees Perkins take over the director's chair once again. The film opens with Joe writing a letter to his wife from behind bars. A mellow rendition of the song with the same name serves as the background music for a series of flashbacks, including: a roast being placed in the oven; a family gathered around the Christmas dinner table; Rita dancing (Rita is portrayed by Kaarin Fairfax, Kelly's ex-wife and co-star in One Night the Moon); and more.

This movie isn't really about Joe; rather, it's more of a meta-story about Kelly, and it uses his songs to illustrate different facets of his life and career. Joe doesn't even make an appearance. This self-reflexive approach was taken from the musician's own memoir, which is also titled How to Make Gravy. The Sydney Morning Herald said that the memoir turned Kelly's songs into "launching pads for sometimes eye-opening Australian histories, each with a personal twist." We have taken this approach from the musician's memoir. " Perkins, who also directed the movie musical Bran Nue Dae, will imbue the production with warmth and radiance, thereby transforming it into a thoroughly memorable oddball biopic.

Both "How to Make Gravy" and "Waltzing Matilda" can be described as being massively popular Australian songs.

Recipe number two is a bit of social realism that really hits home.

Do you want to have a great time watching the movie "How to Make Gravy?" Put that out of your mind. Ana Kokkinos directs in a provocative manner while maintaining a vérité aesthetic for this version, which is hard-hitting and confrontational. When it comes to direct-to-video dramas, she has a track record of success, having directed such films as the hedonistic Head On and the sexual assault-centered The Book of Revelation. Joe, who is portrayed by Colin Friels, is a gardener who has struggled for a long time with an addiction to heroin. He is married to his long-suffering wife Rita, who is portrayed by Leah Purcell, and they have three children together.

(Fun fact number one: Friels has previously portrayed a junkie in the film Monkey Grip from 1982.) Fun fact number two: Purcell has previously appeared on the long-running television show Wentworth in the role of a woman named Rita. Trivial detail No. 3: Paul Kelly has actually composed the score for a movie that starred Friels in the past; Tom White, which was released in 2004, was one of those movies. )

Just picture Colin Friels at the helm of a hard-hitting, socially realistic adaptation of "How to Make Gravy." The image was provided by Don Arnold/WireImage.

Rita finally leaves Joe after he starts using again, and so How To Make Gravy: The Movie continues a long line of Australian productions starring actors who deliver half their dialogue with needles dangling out of their arms (the greatest Aussie screen junkie, by the way, is David Wenham’s character from Gettin’ Square) Joe, who is homeless, alone, and in need of money, decides to rob the home of a well-off yuppie, but the homeowner returns home in the middle of the heist and catches him. Because of this, he is currently detained.

Even the family dog is killed, continuing the "canine carks it" theme that is prevalent in a lot of Australian films (see also: Snowtown, The Road Warrior, Red Dog, and Tracks). Nobody has a happy ending. On Christmas Day, Joe is given a roast to eat in jail; however, the meat is tough and dry, and he is not even given gravy with it.

Recipe 3 is a drama that appeals to a wide audience and is about second chances.

In this iteration of "How to Make Gravy: The Movie," Michael Caton, who is known for his honesty and likeability, plays the role of Joe. It's time to feel better about things because of him. Caton, who is best known for his role as Darryl Kerrigan on The Castle, has previously worked with the film's director, Jeremy Sims, in two other films that were both heartfelt and realistic dramas: Last Cab to Darwin and Rams.

This film is bittersweet but life-affirming, and it ultimately has a cathartic ending. It is set in a small town, like a gazillion other Australian movies. The coal mine, which has been an important part of this community's economy for a very long time, is about to be shut down, which will inevitably lead to increased levels of unpredictability throughout the area. Joe is a generous individual who can be grumpy on occasion. He is the leader of a local initiative called "men's shed," which helps men in rural and remote areas connect with one another.

Rams star Michael Caton is seen here. He could play the lead role in the drama about second chances "How to Make Gravy: The Movie," which has broad appeal. Credit: This image was provided by Landmark Media/Alamy Stock Photo

Joe takes on the role of a father figure for Dan, a troubled young man who is played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, who was just nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Power of the Dog. Dan is a good kid, but he hangs out with the wrong crowd. Joe tries to steer Dan away from his bad influences. One evening, the two argue, and Joe ends up saying something that he quickly comes to regret. After experiencing a great deal of distress, Dan decides to leave and, while driving away, he hits and nearly kills another person. He commits a hit-and-run rather than coming clean about what he did.

When the authorities discover that it was actually Joe, he comes up with a cover story and agrees to take the blame in order to safeguard the child's future. This is an admirable act of self-sacrifice. Because of this, he is currently detained. The final scene depicts Joe going home to his wife Rita (played by Jacki Weaver) on Christmas day, and the family sits down to enjoy a delicious roast that was cooked to perfection, accompanied by an abundance of that sugary, sugary gravy.