User reviews

_Vacant Possession_ explores some fairly common ground as the death of a mother brings a daughter home to Sydney, where the old family home begins to bring old wounds more and more to life. Initially, the flashback sequences are well defined, but as the story unfolds they become more and more seamlessly blended with the present.

There is little here that hasn't been covered numerous times in other films, although it is possible to read the film as a metaphor for the history of white Australia. Ultimately, however, _Vacant Possession_ leaves more questions unanswered than answered.

Pamela Rabe plays Tessa, a deeply disturbed young woman who has returned to her vacant family home on Botany Bay after the death of her mother.

Tessa' past comes back in all the clarity she'd run away from as a teenager, fleeing a violent father and circumstances she couldn't cope with. Now that she's back in the empty house, memories come flooding back and she reunites with her sister and indigenous neighbours she knew in her youth. Tessa's father is still alive and she must face the prospect of his return to the house to sort out his estranged wife's possessions and affairs.

Although much of Tessa's time at the house reveals a difficult upbringing and chaotic life in her youth, by the end of the narrative you feel that she has a future now, that she has dealt with her past.

Terrific acting by Pamela Rabe - a much underrated actor - and the rest of the cast. The brooding location on Botany Bay contributes to the dark mood and emotional feelings Tessa cannot escape 8/10