A simple fix for relationship problems would be easy to market since so many people believe that changing one quality about a person could have momentous effects. But it’s usually the case that resolving one thing leads to noticing and highlighting something else, which then becomes unappealing and impossible to ignore. The Fox presents this story as a fable, with unhappy humans all too willing to listen to animals known to be untrustworthy on how to make their issues go away entirely and who don’t bother to consider the consequences of a decision that will have major implications on their lives.
When Diana (Claudia Doumit) suspects her husband Derek (Damon Herriman) is having an affair with her best friend Kori (Emily Browning), she goes straight to Kori’s new fiancé Nick (Jai Courtney), who doesn’t believe it’s true. But when a talking fox (Olivia Colman) he’s about to shoot tells him about a magical hole that can set Kori right if he pushes her into it, he feels compelled to give it a try. When she emerges, she’s definitely different and has a renewed energy and passion for their relationship. But as they spend more time together, he starts to see certain animal instincts within her that make him wonder who – or what – is actually sharing his bed.
This film marks the feature debut of writer-director Dario Russo, who takes a simple concept and runs with it, not wasting any time on unnecessary exposition beyond an introduction to the animal kingdom from Colman’s fox. That animals can talk isn’t any kind of oddity or red flag, since the more important question is what it is that they have to say. Everyone taunts Derek when a magpie tries to tell him about what Nick and Diana did to Kori, dismissing him not for listening to talking animals but for taking the word of a magpie. There are numerous metaphorical layers to be unpacked here, with animals serving as the most productive device to tell a story of the things we don’t and choose not to notice.
While Nick is theoretically the protagonist and Courtney plays his part exactly as he should, far from detail-oriented and startled to slowly learn what audiences will already know, the true stars of this film are its actresses. Browning’s role is the trickiest, since Kori starts as a reserved, quiet figure who doesn’t seem at all pleased with this proposal and comes far more out of her shell on a run with Diana while she pursues this secret relationship with Diana’s husband. When she emerges from the hole naked and covered in dirt, Kori is completely transformed, and it feels like Browning is playing a completely different character. Doumit, on the other hand, portrays Diana as prone to rage from the very start, confronting this situation in a much more aggressive and impatient way than Nick.
Colman does great voice work as the fox, and it’s fun to see her in a supernatural-tinged project like this after Wicker, which was very well-received at Sundance and also involves magical elements designed to hold a mirror up to society. Sam Neill is quite entertaining as the magpie, with Herriman appropriately relegating Derek to an insignificant supporting player (he’s capable of much more, as evidenced by among others, his formidable performance in another tonally similar film, Judy & Punch). Each cast member contributes exactly what’s needed, not outshining or overshadowing anyone else unless they’re meant to in a given scene.
The Fox, likes its namesake, is clever, weaving a tale of morality and cause and effect. That it explains so little is fitting because that makes the developments it does confirm all the more potent and significant. The adage of less being more is on full display here, with some visual effects used to allow live-action animals appear as if they’re speaking but otherwise taking a very minimalistic approach. Through a comedic lens, this film delivers a thought-provoking story about hopes, desires, and the shortcuts offered to fulfill them at a price.
Movie Rating: 7/10
