ACUTE MISFORTUNE

Drawing on Erik Jensen’s award-winning biography Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen, actor and theatre director Thomas M Wright’s feature debut is an expertly crafted portrayal of the complex artist.

In 2008, Cullen invited Jensen to stay in his spare room and write his biography. What followed was a four-year relationship, both violent and tender, honest and suffocating. Daniel Henshall and Toby Wallace deliver remarkable lead performances as the troubled Archibald-winning artist and the 19-year-old journalist.

Shooting in the Blue Mountains where Cullen was based, Acute Misfortune spins Jensen’s award-winning book into a subtle, striking tale of two wildly different men. Making his debut as a feature film filmmaker, theatre director and actor Thomas M Wright delivers a portrait of the writer and of the artist as a troubled and troubling man. With remarkable access – Daniel Henshall wears Cullen’s actual clothing as he fully inhabits the role, and the artworks that appear onscreen are the real deal

“An enthralling, complex triumph… The best Australian biopic since Chopper”. – The Guardian