The Still Point

A beautiful but rather dated film which came out of Australia during the mid-80's depicting the life of a social misfit: a teetotaler self loathing semi-deaf high school student called Sarah who takes a holiday with her mollycoddling parents and grandparents. She meets other people her age and tries to blend with the crowd, but her lack of social experience and self-esteem counts against her which a couple of them see as a weapon to use against her. The acting is good but the film has a very slow and unhurried pace, and it's only towards the end of the film where she finally tries to break free. Largely forgotten today, but is a prime example of teenage angst done from the view of an 80's kid. Watch it for 80's fashion and nostalgia value.

Nadine Garner made her debut in this film as a 14-year-old, and is very good as Sarah, a serious young adolescent who likes school and painting, but whose hearing problem and seriousness make her a target for teasing by other girls.

The story of her relationship with her working mother, and her trip to her grandfather's the seaside is not particularly well handled, with a slow pace, stilted dialogue and a series of slow unresolved scenes. Nevertheless Garner's performance as a thoughtful, hopeful, but frustrated teenager helps sustain interest to the end.

Apart from Garner, Ben Mendelsohn also made his debut in this film as a young-looking 16-year-old and Steve Bastoni also appears in only his second film with a good performance as Sarah's new boyfriend.