Under the Spotlight: Toni Collette’s layered performance in ‘Muriel’s Wedding’
Before Toni Collette played the mother of a child claiming to see dead people in The Sixth Sense, and before she delivered one of the best monologues in horror history in Hereditary, she was dancing to ABBA and ugly-crying in Muriel’s Wedding. Showing her dedication by putting on 40 pounds for the role, Collette truly came to embody Muriel, a complicated young woman with a desperate desire to be loved.
Directed by PJ Hogan, Muriel’s Wedding is a film that has misled many viewers over the years. Sold as a comedy soundtracked by ABBA (several years before Mamma Mia was penned for the stage), what many people didn’t realise was the sheer emotional rollercoaster that they’d be in for. While the movie is a comedy, sprinkled with campy moments and quotable lines like “You’re terrible, Muriel!” at its core, Muriel’s Wedding is a film about feeling uncertain of your place in the world – alone and unsure of who you are, and unable to shift intense feelings of self-hatred.
When we meet Muriel, she is both a tragic and relatable character. Accused of shoplifting while attending a wedding, Muriel makes being humiliated a part of her daily routine. Paired with her apparent frumpiness and inability to keep up with current trends, she is soon ditched by her so-called friend group – a few women who have barely tolerated Muriel since school. This scene, where they tell her that she listens to 1970s music and can’t do her hair, becomes one of the film’s most poignant moments.
As the girls tell her that she needs to find friends “on her own level,” Muriel slowly breaks down into tears – delivering unrestrained, child-like, open-mouthed crying, much to the embarrassment of the others. It’s a painful scene, and Collette perfectly captures the devastation that one feels when you realise you’re not wanted, no matter how old you are. At this moment, she is at her most vulnerable, and despite her efforts to fit in, it’s not enough. “I can change!” she protests just before the tears, only to be greeted with harsh words: “You’ll still be you.”
Collette taps into those feelings of shame and embarrassment that many of us feel at some point in our lives, retreating to a fantasy world of ABBA songs and dancing in her room as a means of escape. During a scene in which Muriel reconnects with an old friend, Rhonda, and dances to ‘Waterloo’ at the holiday resort, you can see how much these songs mean to her. While they were once a means of escape at home, they soon prove to be a source of confidence in the outside world, too.
Dressed in a tight silver jumpsuit and a blonde wig, Muriel is initially hesitant to sing along and dance to her precious ABBA in front of a crowd, but she warms up with the help of Rhonda. Collette allows Muriel to begin a little stiff, her whole body propped up by awkwardness and evident uncomfortableness in her own skin. Yet, she eases up, and soon Collette brings a large grin to Muriel’s mouth and more powerful movements to her body. With Rachel Griffiths playing Rhonda, the pair craft a natural chemistry that allows their friendship to seem genuine and beneficial for one another.
Still, Muriel makes her fair share of bad decisions, including ones between her and Rhonda, but the film gives us a refreshingly honest portrait of someone whose strong feelings of insecurity naturally affect her relationships with others. She becomes overrun with the desire for marriage to the point that she marries a South African swimmer who needs an Australian wife in order to partake in the Olympics, a decision that ultimately falls apart. Muriel’s desire for a wedding is not just because she wants love from someone else; it’s because she wants to be accepted by the world – to be given proof that she’s not repulsive and ugly.
Thus, it’s hard to hate Muriel, who Collette plays so incredibly convincingly and charmingly. One moment you feel pleased for her, the next you’re groaning in frustration, and the next you want to reach through the screen and give her a big hug. Decades later, Muriel still remains one of Collette’s most iconic and beloved characters, and it’s no wonder – she brought her to life terrifically.
