{"id":162333,"date":"2025-10-24T08:30:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T12:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162333"},"modified":"2025-10-26T22:38:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T02:38:59","slug":"jacqueline-mckenzie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162333","title":{"rendered":"“It\u2019s more about what story I want to be in than what medium.” — Jacqueline McKenzie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\nI first saw this phenomenal Australian actress (whose birthday it is today) in Romper Stomper<\/i> in 1992, and she was so intense, so unpredictable, she was on another level. I couldn’t get her out of my head. She made more of an impression on me than Russell Crowe did (and he made a HUGE impression. And this was before L.A. Confidential<\/i>!). Who WAS this girl? <\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\nA couple years later I saw Angel Baby<\/i>, starring Jacqueline McKenzie and the great John Lynch (I just wrote about him!<\/a>), during its brief run at the Angelika here in New York. I went with my friend Rebecca and we got swept away in it, carried away by the love story, and then when the mood shifted … we both started sinking down in our chairs. We glanced at each other at one point. We were both in tears. It’s a devastating<\/i> film. <\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\nI have been a fan of McKenzie’s work ever since, and I was so happy to pay tribute to Angel Baby<\/i> in my column for Film Comment<\/i><\/a>. When editor-in-chief Nic Rapold first proposed the column to me – basically giving me carte-blanche sky’s-the-limit in terms of subject matter – I wrote down a list of ideas. That first list – about 10 pieces – I am so proud that I eventually wrote all of them for my column. And one of the pieces on that initial pitch list was Angel Baby<\/i>. And somehow – someone must have forwarded the piece to Jacqueline McKenzie, and she Tweeted about it, saying something like “I am so glad these two beautiful characters are remembered.” Sob. This is why I do this.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Angel Baby<\/i> is very hard to see. It’s not “out there”, it’s not streaming, it’s not even on people’s radar. This is ridiculous. Director Michael Rymer has gone on to be a very big deal, through Battlestar Galactica<\/i>. But this intimate story of a couple navigating the world as they battle bipolar\/schizophrenia (it’s a wonderful and compassionate and ACCURATE film on mental illness) – a film Rymer researched and felt passionate about – this film is just not available. It’s such a shame. You can see a clip of it here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\nIt got amazing reviews at the time. It was released. It was in theatres. Like … it should be available to be seen. I think you can order the DVD? But maybe not. It’s a lost film. Early-to-mid 1990s cinema was right before DVDs came into play – so many great films didn’t make the transfer. What Happened Was…<\/i> was another one. It’s so sad because the early-mid 1990s was such a great era of film – a robust era of independent cinema was born – and it’s basically lost history right now. <\/p>\n

Here’s the piece I wrote on Angel Baby<\/i><\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

 
\n 
\nThank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account<\/a>. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0<\/a>, if you’d like to subscribe.<\/em> <\/small><\/p>\n