This is one of those films, like the "Sixth Sense", that is, perhaps, better the second time around. The film starts with the title character assaulting an elderly man, whom you assume has harmed her in the past. In reality, he is, in fact, an innocent victim of a mother's insanity, brought on by immense guilt and grief. Dawn has, in fact, just stolen her dead daughter's body from the elderly undertaker, and assaulted him in her misplaced anger at her daughter's death. She, then, sets off on a odyssey through the Australian countryside, trying to keep herself and her daughter from being separated. In the meantime, she meets a policeman with whom she engages in degrading, meaningless sex, almost resulting in rape. Another man, a former police officer, is hot on her trail and has convinced the undertaker not to press charges for assault. Not until almost the end of the film do we find out why the undertaker agrees: The former police officer is her husband. The girl we see throughout the film talking to and consoling her mother is, in fact, a hallucination. Stephanie has drowned, hence the fact that she is seen in her bathing suit throughout the film. Her body is in the trunk of her mother's car. And, to punish herself for the fact that she was making love to her husband while her daughter drowned, Dawn let the crooked cop use her as a sex toy. It's only when she is reunited with her husband, that her daughter "disappears" and she is forced to confront reality, her hideous sense of guilt, and the insanity of profound grief. There is so much going on here that Dawn's behavior seems incomprehensible until you've processed the entire film. Once you have, though, it becomes clear that this film is intriguing and fascinating on many levels. And, that it will probably only appeal to those of a certain age who have experienced deep love, horrible loss, and days where you feel yourself losing a grip on your sanity.
Review of Touch
