''How to Make Gravy'' is a 2024 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Nick Waterman from a screenplay he co-wrote with

Megan Washington Megan Alexanda Washington (born 7 January 1986) is an Australian musician, songwriter and voice actor who has worked mononymously as Washington. Originally performing jazz music, her style shifted to indie pop and alternative rock. She has re ...

, based on the 1996 song of the same name by Paul Kelly. It was produced by Warner Bros. International Australia. This was also the first original film to be released by the Australian

streaming service Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

Binge Binge or binges may refer to: Behavior ''Binge'', a behavior engaged in excessively over a short period of time, such as: * Binge drinking * Binge eating Or, for a relatively long period of time without pause: * Binge-watching Arts, entertainment ...

Synopsis

The film expands on the characters and stories detailed within the song's lyrics, which take the form of a letter from Joe writing from prison, four days before Christmas.

Production

The film was produced on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

, with filming commencing in October 2023.

Cast

Daniel Henshall Daniel Edwin Henshall (born 9 August 1982) is an Australian actor. Following his film debut in ''Snowtown'' (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Henshall appeared in films such as '' The Babadook'' (2014), ...

as Joe *Jonah Wren Phillips as Angus (Joe & Rita's son) *

Brenton Thwaites Brenton Thwaites (born ) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series '' Slide'' and later appeared on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. Since moving to the United States, Thwait ...

as Dan (Joe's brother) *

Kate Mulvany Kate Maree Mulvany (born 1977) is an Australian actress, playwright and screenwriter. She works in theatre, television and film, with roles in ''Hunters'' (2020–2023), ''The Great Gatsby'' (2013), '' Griff the Invisible'' (2010) and '' The F ...

as Stella (Joe's sister) *

Damon Herriman Damon Herriman (born 31 March 1970) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dewey Crowe on the FX neo-western crime series '' Justified'' (2010–15), and Romeo on the Starz drama miniseries '' Flesh and Bone'' (2015). He is ...

as Roger (Stella's husband) *

Agathe Rousselle Agathe Rousselle (; born 14 June 1988) is a French journalist, model, and actress. She is the co-founder of feminist magazine ''Peach'' and a custom embroidery company Cheeky Boom. She is also known for her lead performance as Alexia in the film ...

as Rita (Joe's wife) *

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

as Noel *

Kieran Darcy-Smith Kieran Darcy-Smith is an Australian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for starring in the films '' The Cave'', '' The Square'', '' Animal Kingdom'', and '' The Reef''. He made his feature film directing debut with 2012 f ...

as Red *

Brendan Maclean Brendan Maclean is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. Music Brendan Maclean's debut EP, ''White Canvas'', was uploaded to iTunes March 2010. In January 2014 he released a second EP, ''Population'', produced by Paul Mac. Its lead single ...

as Possum *

as Kelly *

Kim Gyngell Kim Gyngell, sometimes also credited as Kym Gyngell, is an Australian comedian and film, television and stage actor. Gyngell won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1988 for his role as Ian McKenzie in ''B ...

as Murray (Joe & Stella's uncle) *Eugene Gilfedder as Gary (Joe & Stella's uncle) *Eloise Rothfield as Mary (Dan's daughter) *Rose Statham as Frank (Joe & Rita's daughter) *Izzy Westlake as Dolly (Joe & Rita's daughter)

Release

The film was originally set for release as a Christmas movie by Warner Bros in December 2023. That was delayed, and it was then scheduled to be released, by the Binge streaming service, on 1 December 2024. A trailer for the film was released on 9 October 2024.

Reception

Garry Maddox, of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', praised the film, saying that it was an impressive expansion of the original song, with Henshall, Weaving and Herriman all providing moving performances. Maddox rated the film four out of five stars. In his review, Luke Buckmaster of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that the film veered towards sentimentalism, and that it was a well-intentioned misfire. He rated the film two out of five stars. Jenny Valentish, also of ''The Guardian'', praised the production design, noting that it was almost impossible to pin the film down to a specific era, with its use of an earthy 70s colour palette, and the fashion and cars being 90s shabby.

Accolades

Soundtrack

A limited edition soundtrack was released on vinyl in December 2024.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt26315685 2024 films 2020s Australian films Australian Christmas drama films Films based on songs Films set in New South Wales Films set in Sydney Australian drama television films Films shot at Village Roadshow Studios