Paint and Suffering THE DELICATE ART OF ACUTE MISFORTUNE
‘I think something I am coming to realise as a journalist is that, when you write about other people, you hurt them in some way,’ Erik Jensen tells me. He says this knowing that I’m going to be writing about him. Despite his statement, he is generous in his responses and surprisingly forthcoming. No sound bites here. I suppose, given the reason we’re speaking, he’d be a hypocrite otherwise.
Our interview takes place in the week or so following the world premiere of Acute Misfortune (Thomas M Wright) at the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival. In the little time that has passed, the film has already been getting good buzz1 – and, when the festival is over, it will go on to win The Age Critics’ Award for best Australian feature film.
Neither of us know this yet, however; in the current window of time, the film is freshly out in the world, and public and critical opinion is still in the earliest stages of forming.
Acute Misfortune is a film based on a book based on a true story, and the common component to all three is Jensen: journalist, editor and, now, co-screenwriter. In 2008, he was commissioned by the Archibald-winning artist Adam Cullen to write his biography, and told that there
