Babyteeth

A study in dysfunction with a side order of teen angst, this Australian melodrama is fuelled by fantastic performances but could prove too meandering for the average movie-goer. Eliza Scanlen (Little Women) plays 16-year-old Milla, whose battle with cancer is interrupted by the arrival of Moses (Toby Wallace), a feckless 20-something who offers Milla an escape from her cloistered existence. Their freewheeling escapades don't go down well with Milla's pilled-up mother (Essie Davis) and psychiatrist father (Ben Mendelsohn), whose struggles to keep the pair apart lead to unexpected developments. As a snapshot of affluent white domesticity in turmoil, Babyteeth makes for absorbing viewing, particularly when the camera pulls in close on Scanlen. Director Shannon Murphy (TV's Killing Eve) excels at pairing quiet observations with ethereal visuals, but her film lacks the bite of similar dramas, and ends up an accomplished if overly familiar art-house variation on "misery porn" such as A Fault in our Stars.