Chris Haywood Movies

A socially inept young woman slowly learns to overcome her insecurities in this sleeper hit from Australia. The unconventional Muriel (Toni Collette) is deeply unsatisfied with her life, stuck in the nowhere town of Porpoise Spit and feeling rejected by her friends and family. Believing herself unattractive and worthless, she seeks meager solace in ABBA songs and fantasies of gorgeous weddings, with herself as the bride. Muriel's life takes a turn for the better, however, when she befriends the carefree Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), who encourages her to take control of her life. Together, the two women travel to Sydney, where a series of liberating experiences help Muriel develop self-esteem and take the first steps towards maturity. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Michael is the extremely impoverished nephew of George, a wealthy mining magnate. Not only is he poor now, but he grew up poor. Michael has reason to believe that his uncle cheated him of his inheritance from his father's share in the family mining operation. Michael is concerned about taking care of a mentally handicapped brother and a half-brother who is part aboriginal. George, when confronted, indicates that whatever the facts of the case are, he isn't letting go of a penny. Michael decides to kidnap George's granddaughter for ransom. The snatch takes place while the girl's aunt, a Polish nun, is visiting her mother (the nun's sister), who is not well. She gets caught up in the abduction as well, and a relationship develops between the angry young man and the otherworldly religious woman. She only knows that he seems like a ruffian, and she expects to be raped. He just wants her to be respectful of him. The situation brings on a degree of personal intimacy neither of them has anticipated. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Australian director Paul Cox, skilled at intense psychological stories about lone souls looking for comfort in a cold world, was at his best with this original script co-written by the director and Barry Dickins. Martha is a 78-year-old woman living out her final days. Not a maudlin tale of a lonely woman wasting away, A Woman's Tale focuses on a human who manages to maintain an amazing vitality in the face of death. She encourages her young nurse, Anna (Gosia Doborowolska), to use her flat for romantic trysts; she looks in on Billy (Norman Kayes), an elderly neighbor, and she resists attempts by her son Johanathan (hris Haywood) to place her in a nursing home. Sheila Florance's performance as Martha is a marvel, especially given the art-imitates-life aspect of production: Florance was terminally ill, and she died soon after she was nominated for the Best Actress Award for Australia's Academy Awards. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Bernard (Chris Haywood) is clearly someone with an obsessive personality, as witnessed by his lifelong love affair with old-time clocks. He even earns his livelihood by finding, selling, and repairing them. However, obsessions aside, he seems a decent sort, happly involved in a relationship with Terese (Gosia Dobrowolska), the wife of a clueless Salvation Army major. When Bernard discovers a lock of golden hair in a very old cabinet, a new obsession develops: he literally falls in love with it. He talks to it, he fondles it, he even has sex (of a sort) with it. As he does, he grows every more detached from real life. However, his living girlfriend is not going to take this sort of thing lying down, and she energetically works to win him back. This tale is based on a 19th century story, Le Chevelure, by French author Guy de Maupassant. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Australian author David Williamson adapted Emerald Cities from his own stage play. The title may conjure up images of the Wonderful Land of Oz, but the plot is set in the Munchkin-free Australian film industry. John Hargreaves stars as a prosperous screenwriter who is perfectly willing to accept the obscene gobs of money thrown at him. One day, however, he decides that he's a sellout, and attempts to turn out something of meaning and value--and uniquely Australian. But he runs up against an industry with both eyes on the valuable American market. There are laughs in Emerald Cities, but they have a hollow ring; this hit too close to home with many Australian filmmakers to be considered a comedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Greek Irene Papas, Australian Eva Sitta and Sri Lankan Anoja Weerasinghe all meet while vacationing on a tiny Greek island. The threesome discovers that each is a fugitive from an oppressive, unhappy private life. The protective nature of the Island is personified by deafmute native Chris Haywood, who accidentally kills a man who has been annoying Sitta. Having been sheltered from their pasts by the Island, the three ladies conspire to return the favor by hiding Haywood from prosecution. Produced by an Australian firm, The Island was lensed on location on the Aegean isle of Astypalea. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Career counsellor Michael Thornton (Chris Haywood) decides to change his career and become an actor in this low-budget comedy. He dreams of performing Shakespeare but ends up in a television ad where only his hands appear on camera. He finds a friend in actress Mary McAllister (Nicole Kidman) until she is called to Hollywood to star in a horror feature. Katrina Foster plays Michael's understanding wife Helen, who supports him while he pursues his elusive dream. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The year is 1933. Ruby Rose (Melita Jurisic) is an Australian woman living with her Welsh immigrant husband Henry (Chris Haywood) in the Tasmanian highlands. Cut off from her superjudgmental family, for whom Henry had once worked as a humble farm hand, Ruby remains isolated in her tiny house. Superstitiously terrified of the dark, she begins developing her own folklore about the inky blackness that surrounds her each night; this folklore eventually develops into Ruby's own personal religion, created to ward off the evils that she imagines lurk in every corner. Only by venturing out of her house and rekindling her relationship with her embittered father is Ruby able to exorcise her fears. Almost hypnotic in its stark beauty, Tale of Ruby Rose is proof enough that writer/director Roger Scholes deserves to be far better known. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this hilarious, award-winning comedy, Malcolm (Colin Friels) is an innocent, naive mechanical genius with a distinct gap where sexual and social awareness normally reside. He first gets into trouble when he builds his version of a streetcar and then takes it on a joyride through Melbourne -- a definite no-no. That exploit costs him his job as a maintenance man for the streetcar company. Out of work, Malcolm is forced to take in two boarders who are actually a con man and his female companion. The con artist is intrigued by all of Malcolm's mechanical inventions, and cash registers are clicking at the back of his mind. It does not take him long to convince Malcolm to join them in robbing a bank -- which turns out to be even more adventurous than the streetcar ride through Melbourne. Director Nadia Tass and her husband, co-producer, scripter and cinematographer David Parker followed up with an enjoyable and funny Rikky and Pete. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Broaching an issue that would lead to considerable litigation and controversy over the years, first-time director Bill Bennett looks at the experience of one Australian Vietnam vet as he discovers he has leukemia and traces the probable cause to the defoliant known as Agent Orange (for the color of the containers) used by the Americans in the Vietnam war. When Col. Turner (Chris Haywood and his wife (Jennifer Cluff) and children move into a neighborhood of other veterans, they begin to notice that there is an unusual amount of sickness among the men. Then the colonel himself starts seeing rashes and bruises on his skin. He goes to a doctor and is diagnosed with leukemia. Convinced that this illness, like the others in the neighborhood, was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange, Turner begins a lawsuit to claim compensation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cashing in on the release of Burke and Wills, this undistinguished comedy by Bob Weiss tries to turn the tragic crossing of Australia's desert in 1860 into fodder for humor, but it is tasteless fodder in the end. Robert O'Hara Burke (Gary McDonald) and William John Wills (Kim Gyngell) set out from Melbourne with a large caravan of supplies and people, intending to reach the northern coast and the Gulf of Carpenteria. Out of the 19 men who started the trek, only one returned alive. There are a few good performances delineating minor characters in this ostensibly dark comedy. One notable feature of the film is that a young Nicole Kidman plays Julia Matthews, a Melbourne singer who had a long affair with Burke. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The miners strike in the Australian coal fields during the 1930s provides a factual basis for this drama. The organized miners protest against the use of scab labor and the dreadful working conditions. But nothing is resolved and the tension climaxes with the miners, some of them members of the Communist Party, building a blockade and stranding themselves in a mine shaft. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide