Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst 2006
A film review by Timothy Voon Copyright 2006 Timothy Voon
4 out of 5
I am embarrassed to admit that I went to see this film with friends, and had no idea who Florence Broadhurst was. She is supposedly an Australian icon, and I am after all Australian. But in my defense, I was only 7 years old when she was brutally murdered and to this day the crime remains unsolved.
So who is Florence Broadhurst? Is she an actress, singer, dancer, ladies fashion sales assistant, daughter of a cattle farmer, second hand truck sales part owner, president of the elitist 'Black and White Society', painter, artist, or wallpaper designer?
The answer is she is all of the above and this is her story -
"Florence is a survivor of her times, Traveling to the oriental east and back as part of a dancing troupe in the roaring twenties, Florence moves to Britain after a motor accident cuts short her stage career, she reinvents herself in British society, Attracting the eye of a wealthy stock investor she gets engaged, her future at last secure, Until the man she loves falls on hard times Florence leaves him now forced to work in sales for a woman's boutique, She gets the bright idea to start her own fashion thing by taking the bosses' cliental with her, then falls foul of the law for stealing the patron list and is sued for her misdeeds. Once again Florence falls on hard times and this story is starting to tell like 'The Perils of Penelope' She meets a handsome young joe and marries him, When he breaks his neck in another motor accident, she falls again into financial difficulty when insurance refuses to pay for his injuries."
Intermission
"Florence realizing her bad fortune in England, decides now to move back home to Australia mainland. She wines and dines and successfully fools those poor Australians into believing she is someone from upper class Britain, She paints and entertains, until she is elected President of the 'Black and White' Society, However, her future is not secure, She helps her husband with his second hand truck business, until she decides to divorce him, Her poor son also neglected Through a stroke of luck she falls into wallpaper as someone downstairs is making it, Florence now seventy years of age, starts a pioneering business, This wonderful wallpaper, bright colours, brilliant designs, Wallpapers to fill your bathroom, dining room and even your behind, Oh what a genius Florence is, to design such wonderful wallpaper never before seen, and becomes the love of every Australian interior design critique, Hawaii, London, Paris, here comes Florence Broadhurst"
Intermission
This story has no happy ending, As Florence now in her eighties, walks to work one sunny Saturday, Is found dead on cold factory floor the following Monday. Her head bashed in heinously, with blood splattered on walls, She was making tea for herself and her assailant, when she came to an untimely end, Murder most heinous, the crow cried Florence's blood remains unavenged.
Director Gillian Armstrong seems to have great fun in bringing the lives of Florence Broadhurst to screen. This is a documentary at heart, and this may irritate some viewers who do not like the interview style of telling a story. Florence's early life was probably the most difficult to illustrate because there was not much film footage or photos of her in the early half of the century. Gillian Armstrong does use an actress to help tell the story, but mostly manipulates the photos with cut past motion to give it life. However, this does not detract from the amazing story of this woman, and the mystery of why she was murdered.
It is clear from the interviews from her wallpaper staff, her son and close friends that Florence was a non nonsense person. She was one to speak her mind, and was probably not short on enemies. It is implied in this movie that she was likely defending some friends from some lone shark businessman, who had unscrupulously stolen money from elderly widows in a fraudulent business scheme. It is also implied that she was going to expose them, and this perhaps may have lead to her untimely death.
I have my own theory. What if the answer were more obvious? The murderer supposedly let himself into the factory using the spare key at the back that only friends and workers new about. Florence made 2 cups of tea one for herself and her assailant, suggesting that she was friendly with them. What if the answer was staring us in the face? And the murderer was in fact one of the people who were being interviewed for this film.
Overall, a great story, brought to screen with good direction from Gillian Armstrong.
Timothy Voon
Email - winklebeck@hotmail.com Web - http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Tim+Voon
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