POSSIBLE SPOILERS If I understand correctly, "Age of Consent" was Helen Mirren's first starring vehicle. She was already a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and, at 23, a real beauty. Playing opposite James Mason, then 60, Mirren acts the part of Cora, who wants to escape the Great Barrier Reef where she lives with her drunken and abusive grandmother, to become a hairdresser in Brisbane. Mason, as Bradley Morahan, a well-known and financially successful painter, comes to the reef from New York, seeking to restore his spirit in isolation. Disappointed to find others on the spit of land where he takes up residence, Morahan soon discovers Cora as a supplier of food. Shortly, he takes to sketching her and pays her to pose. Eventually, Morahan acquires everything needs to paint her. Mostly, she models in the nude, and she is often shown swimming naked under water. With exception of her pubic area, every part of her body is on display at one time or another, and an absolutely gorgeous body it is. Unfortunately, Mirren's nudity is displayed in the service of a story that is not very interesting and not very well told. Mason was a fine actor and is persuasive in his role. Michael Powell may have been excellent director, but his reputation was surely not built on the basis of this film. "The Age of Consent" refers to Cora's age, which is supposed to be 17 therefore making her sexually unavailable legally. Morahan displays no interest in having sex with Cora and, until the very end of the film, she shows no sign of wanting to have sex with him. But the age restriction helps to explain why grandma, normally very disagreeable, goes into an overdrive of sputtering rage at the interaction between Cora and Morahan. Mirren is slightly unconvincing physically at a 17 year old. However, she was already an accomplished actress when this film was made and her bearing and manner perfectly mirror the age of her character. I found this film interesting ONLY because it displays Mirren -- ALL of her -- at the beginning of a distinguished career. Mason, a fine actor, made many, many better movies.
Review of Age of Consent
