Love, Lust & Lies (ATOM Study Guide)

Love, Lust & Lies is the fifth film in the documentary series Gillian Armstrong began making in 1976 that follows the lives, hopes and dreams of three Adelaide women.

Armstrong first met the women at a youth drop-in centre when they were girls of fourteen. Their stories encapsulate universal truths about families, love, loss, hopes and dreams. Apart from being a moving and absorbing look at the lives of others, the films also provide a unique record of social change in Australia from the mid 1970s to the present.

The subjects made a commitment to always tell the truth about their lives and it is this, along with their strong rapport with Armstrong, that has resulted in a series of films that has captured a sense of their inner lives.

It has been fourteen years since the release of the fourth film in the series, Not Fourteen Again, which focussed on the then 33-year-old mothers and their teenage daughters Rebecca, Wendy and Amy. In Love, Lust & Lies Armstrong returns to Adelaide to explore where the 47-year-old Kerry, Josie and Diana – and their families – are now.

Significant changes have occurred in all of their lives. The past is revisited and secrets are revealed. The themes of growing up, love lost and found, family, and the part 'destiny' and opportunity play in our lives run through the film.

Two of the three women are now grandmothers: Rebecca, Wendy and Amy all have children of their own. As well, Josie and Kerry's families include a new generation of teenagers: Michael and Micaela, and Steven and Shannon. All of them have compelling stories to tell.

Love, Lust & Lies captures the highs and lows that have occurred in the women's lives over the past fourteen years. The film explores the complexity, drama, joy and anguish that exist in all families. It exposes the emotional impact of family secrets and 'skeletons in the closet'.

In asking universal questions about life and the opportunities offered by circumstances, Love, Lust & Lies shows how the 'ordinary' is quite often extraordinary.

Curriculum guidelines

Love, Lust & Lies would be enjoyed by middle and senior secondary students of English, Family Studies, Psychology, SOSE/HSIE, Australian Studies, Sociology, Values Education and related subjects, Health and Personal Development, and Media and Film Studies.