Written and directed by Josie Hess and Isabel Peppard
Featuring Morgana Muses, Scarlet Blissand, Anna Brownfield and Kim Cums
Running time: 1 hour and 11 minutes
Unrated-Contains some swears, full nudity, sex and sexual situations

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

The synopsis of Morgana reads like an inspirational, whacked-out farce that was possibly made (or at least inspired) by John Waters. In actuality, this is the debut feature-length documentary from co-directors Josie Hess and Isabel Peppard. 

Morgana Muses was a bored, sexless, depressed mother and housewife barely going through the motions and eating as her only comfort. As her marriage finally fell all the way apart, she fell even deeper into depression. She decided she’d got out with a “bang” and hired an escort for the evening before she ended it all. Instead, reconnecting with another human being reawakened her sense of purpose. In a matter of a few years she became a sensation in the world of feminist pornography. She was reborn a 50+, body-positive, sex-positive, porn star, writer and director. 

The film opens up describing this transitional time period and looks back at her upper-class upbringing in Coober Pedy, Australia (known for sand, opal mines and not much else) followed by her mother insisting they move to Sydney to get a proper childhood. This was all shot shortly after Morgana had won an award for best newcomer from prominent feminist porn director, Petra Joy and just as she was readying to travel to the Berlin Porn Film Festival.

From there, the film follows Morgana for the several following years as she battles with her depression and tries to follow her newfound freedom and happiness. Going in, I was hoping for a great “feel good”, “turn your life around”, “finding my joy” sort of a movie,  but this film spends a lot of time showing the stark reality of coping with depression and going through major life changes. While I wasn’t expecting it to take this angle, it was very much appreciated because, in the end, an honest representation of battling these demons is always important to see.

In addition to being an equally fun and important story, it is also visually stunning. There are many scenes with models/miniatures inter-cut that represent the various restrictions Morgana felt throughout her life. There are also many scenes shown from the porn films she has made alongside behind-the-scenes/making-of footage from those films. I must say, the makeup, lighting and sets were all amazing in these portions.

At 71 minutes, this flick moves along pretty quickly and, because it deals so honestly with the depression, anything more might become too much to handle in one go. I highly recommend this for just about anyone. Morgana is an inspiration to young and old alike. We see scenes were fans of her work are happy to see themselves represented, but we also see those that are happy for what their lives might look like in the future. There were two quotes that really spoke to me in the film. First, there’s the overarching theme of “women don’t have an expiration date.” But the most relatable line for me was when Morgana was discussing how she spent so much of her life battling her body (whether it be her weight or her desires) and she’d finally hit the point where it was time to say “Thank you body, for getting me here.”

Morgana is available On Demand August 20th through September 2nd via the Fantasia Film Festival.