Miranda Otto

In Talk to Me (2023), Miranda Otto’s Sue understands that something is badly wrong without needing the whole story explained. The teenagers have been treating possession as a party game, and she brings a mother’s alarm into a film full of people filming one another. We were frightened, and her response made the danger feel harder to dismiss once the immediate shock had passed. The Philippou brothers get something important from her here: a reason to worry about this family beyond the next frightening scene.

The early work was in Australian films, with Love Serenade (1996) giving her scope for vulnerability before the international supporting parts. In Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998), she plays Marty Bell, one contribution to a film whose pleasures depend on its many performances and John Toll’s photography. We rate that film highly, with reservations about how thinly some of its soldiers are drawn.

Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) brought the breakthrough. Working with Peter Jackson, she prepared with sword fighting and riding, giving the character’s strength a physical basis. Her ability to make a character seem vulnerable while remaining convincing in action explains some of her appeal, though not every part has needed both. The subsequent work moved between studio films, independent projects and television.

The Philippous’ film loses some of its grip late on, despite the care taken with the possession scenes. Aaron McLisky’s handheld photography keeps us close to the possessed faces, while Geoff Lamb’s cuts to phone footage show why the teenagers find the experience so exciting. Otto gives us someone outside that excitement who can recognise how dangerous it is, but has limited room to develop Sue. More of this family might have helped, though a supporting actor cannot repair the structure. For a compact example of what she can do, start with Sue; just do not expect a leading role.