The first trailer has been released for How To Make Gravy, the upcoming film based on the much-loved song by Paul Kelly that has become an Australian Christmas anthem.
Kelly’s lyrics, which take the form of a letter from a man named Joe who is writing home from prison four days before Christmas, contain a whole host of characters including Joe’s brother Dan – the recipient of the letter – and Joe’s wife Rita.
The film, which was adapted by musician Meg Washington and director Nick Waterman, will see all the characters’ stories expanded, as well as introduce new characters.
“Dan and Joe and Rita and Angus and Dolly and all the others have been stuck inside that song so long, I’m glad they’re going to get a chance to live life a different way,” Kelly said in 2022, when the film was first announced.
Snowtown actor Daniel Henshall will play Joe, while Pirates of the Caribbean actor Brenton Thwaites will play Dan. Hugo Weaving will play Noel, a fellow prisoner who helps Joe deal with an antagonistic prisoner named Red, played by Kieran Darcy-Smith. French actor and model Agathe Rousselle, best known for her role in the Palme d’Or-winning film Titane, will play Rita.
Other characters include Joe’s sister Stella, played by Kate Mulvany, and her husband Roger, played by Damon Herriman. Sweet Tooth actor Jonah Wren Phillips will play Joe’s son Angus, while Rose Statham and Izzy Westlake will play Joe’s twin daughters, Frank and Dolly.
Boy Swallows Universe actor Eloise Rothfield plays Dan’s daughter Mary, while Eugene Gilfedder and Kym Gyngell will play “the brothers driving down from Queensland”, Gary and Murray.
Washington has written original music for the film, which will also feature cameos from rapper Adam Briggs and Dallas Woods, Zaachariaha Fielding of Electric Fields, performer Brendan Maclean, and Patience Hodgson from the Grates.
Perhaps against expectations, How to Make Gravy will not be released on 21 December – unofficially known as Gravy Day – but will be released on Binge on the 1st. It will also be distributed internationally, with those details yet to be announced.
