conjure

HARCOURT

Loneliness, escapism and a flyer on a local notice-board drives two strangers, Beck and Marie, women in their mid-20s, to share a house together on Harcourt Street in Brisbane, 2008. Bruised and suicidal, Beck spends her time going back and forth from abusive relationships, careless alcohol fuelled days and nights, and depressing sexual and spiritual cycles of self-destruction.

Beck's experience of physical violence and late night drug-fuelled rages begins to have an effect on Marie, the official leasing tenant. Marie decides to demand more autonomy from Beck by creating a curfew, a roster for their chores and divided living spaces. For Beck though, autonomy from Marie is not an option. Beck's ex-lover Leon continues to visit her at all hours of the night, breaking through windows and battering Beck until, at times, she ends up unconscious. In her weak and fragile condition Beck becomes powerless to stop Leon from entering her house, creating a tension that almost tears her home apart. Marie finally threatens Beck with eviction, driving Beck to take a second look at the way her life is playing out. In a moment of strength Beck turns around to ask for help from Marie, realising that without change, she will be led into yet another year of abuse and emotional torment from her ex-lover Leon.

Slowly, Marie and Beck begin to step into one another's lives and discover the truth and similarity of the intimate, dark secrets that they each carry with them. Marie begins to reveal that she, too, has a maelstrom of memories from her childhood that she has kept hidden her entire adult life. They stand together against a lifetime of abuse and drug habits, allowing themselves for the first time to trust another person completely, and assist each other in finally repairing their broken lives. The two women form a close bond, and through unity and self-sacrifice, develop a love that breaks the cycle of their own torment. They begin to heal inside the therapeutic walls of the Harcourt Street house, finding a companion to trust and rely upon in times of need.