Movie Review: Addition

Movie Number 6 of 2026

The Movie: Addition

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens. Preview session.

Runtime: One hour 31 minutes

Opens 29 January

Stars: 4

An Australian movie on the long weekend we celebrate the formation of a Penal Colony. It feels good to put some money into the Australian Film industry. Even better when on the day before this most contentious of Australian public holidays you feel like you're celebrating Australia, but not on that day. (Yes, you don't need to ask, I'm a "Change-the-Date" person and just prefer to call the day "that January public holiday". I'm also did some work today too - just to keep it like an ordinary day so to display my views without yelling it from the top of a tree.)

Anyway, the ads for this film had me intrigued and the preview session called to me. How can you go wrong with a gentle rom-com about mental illness, set in Melbourne?

I was really pleased I went along. This is a good little film. 

Grace (Teresa Palmer) has a doctorate in Maths, but is teaching at a high school. She also has rather noticeable OCD which appears to be giving her some trouble. You see, Grace is a counter - she has to ensure that everything fits in with her very strict numerical rules. It's only when she meets Seamus (Joe Dempsey), a tradie with a heart and a brain, that she starts to feel things that her counting has kept suppressed. Grace has to navigate her own tenuous mental health, her family and her quirks, searching to find an equilibrium. 

Another character that needs to be mentioned is Nikola Tesla (Eamon Farron), Grace's imaginary friend. This inclusion was a very welcome one as his coming and going on the screen gave further insights into where Grace was at. Like Grace, Tesla also had OCD and was a counter. 

Based on Toni Jordan's book 2008 book of the same name, this film rings true, showing the struggles and idiosyncrasies of embarking on a relationship while seeking treatment for a mental illness. I particularly liked Zahra Newman's sensible, straight-talking psychiatrist, who guides Grace rather than frog-marching her into treatment. The family issues, with her Mum (Sarah Peirse), sister Jill (Adrienne Pickering) and niece, Hilly (Lou Baxter), who are supportive, get combative when required. You get a good insight into some of the reasons Grace is the way she is.

The setting was another aspect of the film I found enjoyable. Set in the inner West of Melbourne around the Flemington and Maribyrnong areas, you see Melbourne in a different way - it's a grittier, less manicured Melbourne, which suits the film. 

I like supporting local films, and this one was well worth spending the money on. Teresa Palmer is great in everything she does. The film, being only an hour and a half long, gets to where it needs to quickly and entertains. This is a really solid Australian film - definitely worth checking out. 

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