Get ready to stir up some emotions this holiday season as Paul Kelly’s classic Christmas anthem How To Make Gravy has been adapted into a film, and it’s set to hit screens on December 1st.
The first trailer for the highly anticipated movie just dropped, giving us a glimpse of the beloved characters from Kelly’s 1996 song finally getting the chance to tell their story on screen.
The film, a Binge original, is directed by Nick Waterman and co-written with ARIA-Award-winning musician Meg Washington. It follows the narrative of the song, centring on Joe, a newly imprisoned man spending Christmas away from his family for the first time. Australian actor Daniel Henshall (The Snowtown Murders, Mystery Road: Origin) takes on the role of Joe, and the movie introduces several other key characters from the song: Joe’s brother Dan, his wife Rita, and their children.
In an exciting addition, Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings) joins the cast as Noel, a fellow prisoner who befriends Joe, bringing more depth to the story. “Dan and Joe and Rita and Angus and Dolly and all the others have been stuck inside that song so long, I’m glad they’re going to get a chance to live life a different way,” Paul Kelly said last year when news of the film broke.
Alongside Henshall and Weaving, the ensemble cast includes Brenton Thwaites as Joe’s brother Dan, Kate Mulvany as his sister Stella, and Damon Herriman as Roger, Stella’s husband. French actress Agathe Rousselle (Titane) plays Joe’s wife, Rita, in her English-language film debut. The young actors playing their children, Angus, Frank, and Dolly, are Jona Wren Phillips, Rose Statham, and Izzy Westlake.
The film also sees appearances from Australian musicians like Adam Briggs (of A.B. Original), Dallas Woods, and Patience Hodgson of The Grates, who make cameos throughout. The soundtrack, of course, includes Kelly’s original music alongside tunes from Brendan Maclean, Nina Simone, and Australian Eurovision reps Electric Fields.
For many Aussies, How To Make Gravy is more than just a Christmas song; it’s a story that resonates far beyond the festive season. Released in 1996, the track has become a cultural touchstone, with December 21st unofficially known as “Gravy Day” among its devoted fans. The song is a poignant letter from Joe to his brother Dan, lamenting the family Christmas he’ll miss and offering a cheeky tip for making the gravy (“just add a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang”).
The film adaptation expands on this, introducing new characters and building on the story that fans know and love. Waterman and Washington said in a statement, “It’s a uniquely Australian story, made for film lovers and music fans alike. It’s testament to Paul’s songwriting that the world and characters within the song are so vivid, and we are proud to have the honour of bringing it to life.”
With its Australian roots and a deep connection to music, How To Make Gravy has the potential to be more than just a Christmas movie—it could become a timeless part of Australian cinema. And for fans of Kelly’s music, it’s an opportunity to see his vivid characters come to life in a whole new way.
How To Make Gravy arrives on Binge on December 1st, just in time for the festive season. Grab your gravy ingredients (don’t forget the tomato sauce) and settle in for a uniquely Australian Christmas story brought to life by some of the country’s best talents.
Check out the trailer below.