"Meet the Parents” meets “Parasite” in Zoe Pepper’s debut “Birthright”

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” had a crossover with “Meet the Parents”? The result would be something similar to Zoe Pepper’s feature film debut “Birthright” that, after its world premiere at Tribeca, has now joined the shortlist for the Avolon World Cinema Award at this year’s Dublin International Film Festival edition. 

This Australian black comedy with satirical undertones puts us in the shoes of Cory (Travis Jeffery) whose situation couldn’t be worse. He has just lost his job, his lease is up and his new place is 3 weeks away and the cherry on top is that his partner Jasmine is pregnant with their first child. Broke and without a choice, Cory and Jasmine (Maria Angelico) are forced to move in with Cory’s parents: the rigorous Richard (Michael Hurst) and the distant Lyn (Linda Cropper). At the start the awkwardness and silly family feud is comical and a product of mutual grievances with Cory’s parents being disappointed in their son’s life choices and the young couple with the elder’s lack of understanding and hospitality. But after an unforeseen turn of events the couple is forced to extend their stay indefinitely and the ambiance gets more frantic and paranoid, leading to a power dynamic brawl. 

Often dark comedy satires tend to lean too much into their absurdity that it becomes almost alienating to the audience, but “Birthright” skillfully balances quick-witted humour with crippling anxiety. It’s no surprise that Australian director-writer Zoe Pepper has an extensive theatre experience behind her back as “Birthright” often feels like a four-wall chamber movie with its confined to the house cast unable to give up their occupied turf to the other. There’s also a curious playing around with the lighting as the beginning of the movie is marked with comforting natural daylight which rays reach the inside of the house, but as the tension and suspicion rises the light fades away and by the end it’s darkness and artificial light that prevails, mirroring the moral decay of the characters over a swimming pool…or a vintage burgundy jacket. 

In its heart “Birthright” is certainly an entertaining tool to comment on a wildly-spread problem so relevant today, especially in Ireland, and this being the housing crisis. The lack of zoned land, the high demand, home prices and rents growing much faster than incomes is unfortunately a reality for many countries in recent years and is the subject of multiple films in this year’s DIFF selection. Pepper has managed through satire to illustrate the change of character in human nature when desperation for a basic need like shelter takes hold, showing how the housing crisis compromises the moral compass through circumstance rather than inherent corruption.

Amusing, unpredictable and featuring family dysfunction walking a thin line of being hilarious and disturbing, “Birthright” makes an exhilarating addition to the Avolon World Cinema Award shortlist, that puts the spotlight on international features made by first, second or third time directors, and has a strong chance of bringing the prize down under.