Death In A Statesman | Debase Productions
Cliff, the protagonist of Death in a Statesman, returns to Bundaberg and finds himself unraveling a mystery including two fatal car crashes and local council corruption, while trying to reconnect with his 17 year old daughter Elliot and his mother who has been caring for her. In typical noir fashion he breaks the fourth wall and narrates his way through small town politics and his own trauma with a comedic flourish. The story felt grounded in Bundaberg, Cliffs descriptions of the humidity and the sugar mill were atmospheric and painted a great setting for this mystery. There is a clear nostalgic reflection on small town Australia with a wider cast of characters that represent the pitfalls of close minded thinking and fear of change. Maybe because I didn’t share in many of those nostalgic reflections, a lot of the humour was a bit lost on me and I felt disengaged from Cliff's story. I was far more interested in Elliots journey, but as a big fan of genre storytelling I was definitely swept up in the bigger mystery as well.
Images including cover image: Creative Futures Photography
Elliot’s investigation follows some stolen fizzy drinks and cigarettes from her family's news agency. The stakes seem lower than the fatal car crash but I really enjoyed the way Elliot seemed to wrestle with the injustice of it, and stubbornly set out to make things right herself since nobody else seemed interested. She has a sense of obligation to her family and a desire to leave Bundaberg, hopefully escaping the banal and constant bigotry that she faces being Chinese-Australian. I saw her investigation as a small grab for control in a place where she was used to being undervalued. That emotional conflict really carried me through the story and I found it very satisfying to have Cliff pass the mantle of ‘protagonist’ on to his daughter at the end. I just found myself wishing he had done it earlier.
Death in a Statesman has a lot of fun playing with genre conventions, taking things we typically associate with gritty American crime stories and placing them on a journo in Bundaberg who uses a bike to get around. The whole audience was really receptive to that playfulness and humor, laughing heartily along with the fourth wall breaking jokes and the over the top minor characters. Noir and comedy make a fun combination and I think that genre blend made a good vehicle for a story about family and transitions. So if you’re looking for a dose of home-town nostalgia or want to dig your teeth into a murder mystery you should definitely go and check it out.
