Sweetie

Jane Campion's first directoral effort, released in 1989, is a funny little film that deserves a bit more thought thatn its surface may imply. The whole style is odd; the character's speak in stilted voices, the dialogue is pretty discontinuous. The narrative is dreamy, and at once grotesque, the portraits of mental illness always remaining funny and routed to the earth, while irredeamably different from the usual screen portraits of such a condition.
The metaphors, of trees and roots, seem initially heavy handed, but in hindsight don't make a lot of sense; which is a compliment, there are layers of forthrightness, not entirely logically explainable, to the character's enigmatic, often highly comic actions. The themes of children, adults acting like them, the ambiguity of the value of this trait, is an interesting exploration.
Well shot, it keeps its energy to the end, and at its best is screamingly funny. Quirky, by in the best way not attempting to be quirky at all.