A flustered romp of supposedly Faustian proportions, Peter Duncan’s A Little Bit of Soul moves from one chaotic scene to the next, which is strangely appropriate considering that much of the ranting in it embraces disorder. Filled with rhythm-and-blues songs that signal random plot details, the film follows two scientists (Frances O’Connor and David Wenham) who find funding for their anti-aging virus through a couple (Geoffrey Rush and Heather Mitchell) who soon morph from oversexed weekend hosts to pragmatic Satanists. Thrown into the mix are such issues as sexual repression, abuse of governmental office, and burial rites. That none of these gives rise to moralizing
is one of the small joys of this film; the cast—particularly Rush and Mitchell—seems to revel in the shameless detachment and morbid efficiency with which their characters
operate. The camp quotient is obvious, but only becomes
enjoyable when the movie
takes on the aesthetic of a Tales From the Darkside episode,
replete with an overactive fog machine and a bow-tied savior