Sex, Violence and Catering

Photo: Jess Husband

Jarrah Sexton is "Blonde"

By Carissa Pritchard

Jarrah Sexton, a striking red head, plays “Blonde”. She won’t simply be replaying the notorious “cutting off the cop’s ear” scene – it’s been amped up for the Reservoir Cats version...

I ask Jarrah, “What’s your approach to playing Blonde?”

“I always thought it would’ve been good if Tarantino picked a female to play that role – I always saw that character as very sexy. The dynamics of so much male testosterone, to have a really sexy female dominating the other males, would have been a nice a counter balance.”

Sexy? All I remember is extreme violence. Intrigued by her take on it, I revisit the original. As Michael Madsen moves about the warehouse, I find myself thinking, gosh this guy is sexy… then he cuts the cop’s ear off.  Yes, I knew it was coming, but I’m still shocked – not from what he’s done, but from what I have: I can’t believe I felt that! What does that say about me?  Jarrah was right, the impact of the scene comes from flipping sex to violence in the blink of an ear.

The warehouse, a last minute find, adds an unexpected visual element to the film. The low roof bears down on the scene, like the police outside and the walls contain an assortment of coloured graffiti, like the array of contrasting characters inside. Unfortunately, the external tin roof does not help – when it’s pouring with rain, it’s deafening inside. As we wait out the latest bout, I chat to Orsi Parkanyi, Production Manager and onset masseuse (when Helen hobbles up from hours on the warehouse floor, it’s Orsi who gets her walking again). Originally from Hungary, she’s been in Australia for six years and whilst she has four degrees in everything else, her passion is film. It was her apartment that was used for Orange: “I was shocked at the huge amount of equipment – they took over my place in Maroubra in a minute.”

Photo: Jess Husband

Orsi Parkanyi, PM

But what she found even more shocking, was Producer, Peter Furst’s approach to catering. “Walking into a café and asking for free food is not something you would ever do for yourself.”

“How do you do it?” I ask.

“We explain that we’re involved in this project, we’re all volunteering, a bit about the cause, and ask if they’d like to help out with free coffee and food. Almost everyone’s supportive, which is very Australian, I think. They all say, ‘that’s great, good luck.’”

Due to a day of rain, Jarrah’s scenes have been rescheduled until tomorrow. What is the Reservoir Cats version of the ear-cutting scene? That's been classified by the Director. You'll have to see it for yourself.