Patrick

Clip 2: Patrick makes contact

2 min 39 sec

Taken from the feature Patrick (1978)

Original title classification M – this clip chosen to be PG

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Curator’s clip description

Patrick (Robert Thompson) contacts Kathy (Susan Penhaligon) while she is typing. Kathy establishes communication with Patrick and asks Matron Cassidy (Julia Blake) to witness her discovery. Patrick refuses to respond. After Matron Cassidy leaves, Patrick transmits the word ‘secret’ to Kathy’s typewriter.

Curator’s notes

Kathy’s feeling that Patrick can communicate is confirmed. Her excitement is quickly deflated when Patrick refuses to ‘talk’ in front of Matron Cassidy. Patrick is marking out his territory by communicating only with Kathy and, as a consequence, setting up anyone who stands between them as a potential victim of his psychokinetic abilities. The dramatic power in this scene is conveyed by the silences of Patrick and Matron Cassidy.

Richard Kuipers, curator

australian screen