Bad Boy Bubby by Rolf de Heer has everything – cat murder, spoken-word punk rock, chocolate eclairs and pervasive bagpipe bands. I have seen my fair share of strange, offbeat films in my time, but not even I could consider myself prepared for Bad Boy Bubby, which I can only attest to being one of the most idiosyncratic films I have ever seen, an exercise in absurdity that not even Franz Kafka could conjure up. A film that feels like Monty Python as directed by Peter Greenaway, or a perverse amalgamation of Room and The Room. A shocking, uncomfortable story about very bad people doing awful things, presented in a world that is terrifyingly bleak (even more so than the other great Australian post-apocalyptic satire, Mad Max). Thus, how is it possible that de Heer made something so extraordinarily beguiling? Bad Boy Bubby is a postmodern masterpiece, a distinctive, beautifully-constructed dark comedy that subverts expectations and serves to be one of the most challenging films of recent decades. I found the film to be an almost transcendent experience – a visceral, brutally sickening but nonetheless towering achievement. I stand by the belief that the finest films are those ones that incite a reaction, whether positive or negative, which Bad Boy Bubby does in excess.

The film is focused on Bubby (Nicolas Hope), who has been kept locked in his mother’s apartment for his entire life. Physically, he is middle-aged, but mentally he has not grown, and he has a childlike persona that manifests itself in his unhinged playfulness, juvenile curiosity and cognitive deficit, which causes him to only speak in sentences he had previously heard, entirely from his mother (Claire Benito). More than this, Bubby also has to endure brutal abuse at the hands of his mother, both physical and sexual. She keeps him locked in their squalid apartment, and regularly takes advantage of him by leading him to believe that they are alone in the world and that the air outside is poisonous and will kill Bubby if he ever ventures out. Everything changes with the sudden arrival of a strange man (Ralph Cotterill), who is revealed to be Bubby’s father, who has let go of his philandering ways and chosen to return as a man of God to his former flame and the son he didn’t know he had. However, this holy man is soon revealed to be just as abusive as he was before and now exerts his disdainful temper on Bubby, who starts to realize that all is not what it seems. His playfulness reaches a grotesque peak when he accidentally kills his parents, soon escaping from his domestic prison and being liberated into the outside world – but the question is this: is the outside world ready for Bubby?

Bad Boy Bubby features one of the most impressive screen performances I have seen in years, namely on behalf of Nicholas Hope. Prior to seeing this film, I had not been aware of Hope as an actor, and my research brought out the fact that he is respected, but not overly well-known, normally occupying supporting roles in smaller projects. Regardless, Bad Boy Bubby gives him an astonishing character to work with, and the results are nothing short of a revelation. Bad Boy Bubby is a much longer film that it should have been (clocking in at just under two hours, longer than such a quaint film normally would be), but we almost don’t notice the laborious length when confronted with Hope’s magnificent performance. This film belongs entirely to Hope – there is a multitude of other performances in this film, but it is Hope that makes the most lasting impression. It would be easy to view this character as an unlikable, sociopathic man-child…because that is exactly what he is, but in the hands of Hope, who commits fully to the role, he creates a compelling and complex character that extends far beyond caricature. It is an astounding performance, and the fact that Hope was a relative unknown only proves that sometimes, the greatest performances occur in the most unlikely of places. Bad Boy Bubby revolves entirely around Hope’s terrific performance, and he truly does deliver with nuance and dedication.

There is a lot that can be said about Bad Boy Bubby: it is an uncomfortable, harrowing and terrifyingly strange film. Yet, there is one quality that supersedes nearly everything else about this film: it is as unique as they come. When I elected to watch this film, based merely on a suggestion and a brief look at the synopsis, I did not realize what I was throwing myself into. As someone who idolizes David Lynch, John Waters, and Alejandro Jodorowsky, it takes a lot to leave me truly bewildered: yet, Bad Boy Bubby did just that. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I assume many others feel the same because this film has amassed a cult following and garnered acclaim, which has to indicate some resonance in the audience. I don’t recall a film that so dangerously juxtaposes concepts in such a way: it features, at the core, representations of forceful sexual relations between a mother and her developmentally-challenged son, horrifying animal abuse and rape. Yet, it also has an uplifting story, where our protagonist ventures off into an uncertain world and undergo a lovable process of learning about the reality he had previously been robbed of experiencing. It preaches love and acceptance, empathy for your fellow human being and tolerance for everyone, regardless of who they are. What began as a shocking and often grotesque social horror evolves into something quite affectionate and meaningful, a film that audiences will be oddly moved by. It is a profound, layered film and it takes itself just seriously enough to have a good time without being too intent on alienating audiences.

Something about this film just lingers in my mind, and I just cannot stop thinking about it. On a purely technical level, it is an innovative film. The strategy of recording the sound – placing microphones under Bubby’s wig, so that the audience hears the sounds in the same way Bubby does – was truly unique and very effectively implemented. The visual aesthetic was also remarkable, with the cinematography mirroring Bubby’s own perceptions of the world around him, sometimes being dark and bleak, other times fast-paced and disorientating. Bad Boy Bubby is a film intent on placing the audience within the mind of the main character himself so we may experience this new liberation alongside Bubby. Bad Boy Bubby is an inherently postmodern film, as it deconstructs dominant perceptions and causes the audience to question reality through this film’s often uncomfortable, but always playful, approach to telling this story. It dismantles notions of decency, and in placing such a despicable character at the center, and imbuing him with several redeeming qualities, it causes us to feel inner-conflict – do we empathize with this character, or do we just view him as a troubling criminal? It is a complex issue, and Bad Boy Bubby is a difficult film, but definitely a worthwhile endeavor.

Bad Boy Bubby is a two-hour odyssey through the experiences of a curious, child-like man who has the inability to tell the difference between right and wrong, as evident in his frequent actions that are morally dubious, to say the least. Bubby is an outsider, and while those are prevalent in films, especially more obscure, offbeat independent films such as this one, they are never quite as eccentric as they are here. Bad Boy Bubby is a lot of things: a social horror, a satirical odyssey and an exploration of taboo concepts through dark comedy. Yet, I would consider this film to be mostly a fascinating character study, a look at a strange individual and the world through his eyes. We are privy to his experiences in discovering the world with the same childish abandon that he should’ve had decades before, and while it can be quite unsettling, it allowed for scathing commentary on how society functions and the flaws inherent in human nature, purely because of the idiosyncratic way Bad Boy Bubby shows the world, as uncanny and disquieting. It is a film consisting of interactions between the oddball protagonist and ordinary people, and how his different views on the world influence them and cause them to change their thoughts and actions. No film has ever been able to truly portray the human condition in perfect clarity, but a few have come close, and Bad Boy Bubby is certainly one of them.

Bad Boy Bubby is an excellent film. It is a dark, perverse and twisted satire that veers off into some very dark, troubling territory. It is a film that leads the audience to question everything, and just when we believe that we have seen everything, this film throws another unpleasant surprise in our direction. It is a powerful and daring film, and the boldness of the people behind this film should not be dismissed. It is an unwaveringly strange film, an odd character study and a visceral indictment on society. It is filled with disconcerting corporeality and some moments of intense discomfort, but it all works towards creating one of the most audacious films I have ever seen. Nicholas Hope gives an astonishing performance and anchors this film, giving it a sense of emotional gravitas while allowing it to still soar as a masterpiece of postmodern absurdity. It is surreal and bewildering, but it is also an effective work that looks on society with both strong disdain and loving affection, finding a balance that is increasingly rare in a film like this. Bad Boy Bubby is one of the more unsettling films I have ever seen, and for that, I have to applaud it relentlessly. Truly a terrific and subversive film, and one I won’t soon be forgetting.