Edinburgh International Film Festival 2021 Review – The Justice Of Bunny King (2021)

“I need you to keep fighting,” says the paramedic in the ambulance. “You’re a fighter.” She’s not wrong. She’s talking to Bunny King (Essie Davis) – homeless, with her children in foster care and what feels like the entire social system against her. And she’s at the centre of this powerfully low-key social drama from New Zealand, which gets its UK premiere at Edinburgh this week.

She’s not just at the heart of The Justice Of Bunny King, she is the heart of the film. Sleeping on her sister’s sofa and working multiple menial jobs to scrape together enough to rent a home for herself and her two children, Bunny’s desperate to be reunited with her son and daughter but finds herself out on the streets again after a serious family argument. Now with teenage niece Tonyah (Thomasin McKenzie) in tow, she takes the New Zealand social system head on in a last ditch effort to bring her family back together again for good.

It’s hard not to warm to Bunny: she has a winning smile, a twinkle in her eye and an easy charm. But it’s equally hard not to shake your head – even if you’re still smiling – at the decisions she makes: they may be for the right reasons, but they’re not good. However, director/writer Gaysorn Thavat makes us wait for most of the film to find out what’s skewed her life and the reasons behind her hair-trigger reactions, adding an unexpected touch of suspense to the drama. It’s a story that takes us in a variety of directions, leading us one way, then another, but they all make total sense and deepen our understanding of her and, later, the quiet Tonyah. And, while this is very much a character based piece, it’s also one that poses some deep and difficult questions about childcare, but never provides any answers. We’re left to make up our own minds.

Already with an impressive track record that includes Old), has a more understated role but one which quietly gets under your skin and the heartbreaking moment when she rebukes her own mother with a tearful “You never even asked me if it was true!” is truly gut wrenching. We’re probably said it before, but she really is a talent to watch out for.

The Justice Of Bunny King isn’t the heartwarmer you might assume from its poster: every time something seems to go right for Bunny, she’s knocked back with double the force. But there is something life affirming about her determination to get back up and keep fighting, however hopeless the odds. A feelgood film it may not be. Good it most certainly is.

★★★★

Drama | Cert: 12A | Edinburgh Film Festival, 20 and 22 August 2021 |Dir. Gaysorn Thavat | Essie Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Erroll Shand, Xana Tang.