Written and directed by Dario Russo, an affable foxhunter encounters a talking Fox who offers him an opportunity to transform his fiancée into the perfect woman. Starring: Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Olivia Colman, Claudia Doumit, Peter O’Brien, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Damon Herriman and Zlatko Burić.
Now, let’s all be honest with ourselves, if a fox with the voice of Olivia Colman suddenly appeared and offered to solve all of your problems, wouldn’t you say yes? I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Well, that’s what you’re going to find out with The Fox. Dario Russo has crafted one of those special films where the concept makes you simultaneously think: ‘well that sounds nuts’ and ‘yes, please and thank you’ and the execution does not disappoint.
Starting out with the voice of Olivia Colman giving this observational monologue about the various traits of different animals in a delightfully derogatory manner is perfection. It’s funny, charming and weird, exactly what The Fox wants to be, and is. That sense of humour kicks off immediately and doesn’t let up all throughout the film. The comedy is greatly consistent, there’s no lag or dip, and that’s because it cleverly ramps up its story.
The progression of The Fox is such a key element to its success because while it does have that dark sense of humour, it naturally grows in a satisfying way as time passes. It has the feel of a conspiracy, not unlike Hot Fuzz, it unravels and intensifies. Russo manages to build a genuine tension alongside the comedy, even giving it a little touch of horror at times. Part of why he’s able to achieve that is the cinematography from Matthew Chuang, it has such a great colour and depth which you don’t always find in this type of film, and it really boosts the atmosphere.
Another key factor in being able to create that blend of genres is the performance from Jai Courtney. He gives Nick a naivety which makes him so easily swept away by this misadventure, he’s relatable and just the right amount of oblivious. Courtney is great at making the emotions and reactions big enough but not too big, adding an endearing clumsiness. While Emily Browning seamlessly moves through the many different phases of Kori. Miranda Otto, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit and Zlatko Burić are all wonderful additions to embrace the comedy. While it’s a bittersweet experience to have the voice of Sam Neill as a demanding, nosy magpie, reminding viewers both of how charming and funny he was, and also what we’ve lost.
The Fox is a little weird, a little bizarre, a little dark and a lot of fun. It’s well shot, it has strong cinematography, and the story nicely snowballs as time goes on. It comes in at the sweet spot of ninety minutes, the progression and pacing are solid, and using an animatronic fox rather than CGI makes a big difference. There’s a great cast, Jai Courtney makes for a superb wide-eyed lead to guide this funny, strange, unexpected misadventure. Having the voices of Olivia Colman and Sam Neill is the perfect cherry on top. It’s an excellent debut feature from Dario Russo and it will be very interesting to see what he does next.
