High Tide

"High Tide" is one of the greatest movies most people haven't seen. If you just read a plot summary, the story may seem unbelievable. But thanks to writing, acting, directing and music scoring of the highest caliber, this film works on every level. According to director Gillian Armstrong, the role played by Judy Davis was originally written for a man. But Armstrong's husband suggested rewriting it for a woman. Davis gives one of her best performances in "High Tide," and that's saying something for such an accomplished actress. Physically she is a very mannered performer, reminiscent of such great actresses of the 1930s and '40s as Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn. But Davis is also incredibly subtle. Just watch her face and you can see every thought process, every emotion. Davis' performance was helped tremendously by Gillian Armstrong, who is not afraid of lingering on a closeup way beyond when lesser directors would have cut away. It's one of her greatest strengths as a director. She allows a scene to play out. Nothing is rushed so everything unfolds naturally, helps add to the realism of "High Tide." (She does the same thing in "The Last Days of Chez Nous," another of her best efforts.) This is a movie to be cherished. It's an object lesson to mainstream Hollywood on how to turn what could have been a sappy, cliched movie into a moving work of art.

This is not the stuff of soap-operas but the sort of conundrums that real people face in real life. A testament to the ensemble and director for the powerful story-telling of fallible characters trying to cope but not quite succeeding.

Yeah, it's a chick flick and it moves kinda slow, but it's actually pretty good - and I consider myself a manly man. You gotta love Judy Davis, no matter what she's in, and the girl who plays her daughter gives a natural, convincing performance.

The scenery of the small, coastal summer spot is beautiful and plays well with the major theme of the movie. The unknown (at least unknown to me) actors and actresses lend a realism to the movie that draws you in and keeps your attention. Overall, I give it an 8/10. Go see it.

This is one film I am always recommending to friends looking for something "different" to see. On paper it sounds like one of those 1940's "women's pictures" but in execution it is something really special and beautiful. Gillian Armstrong adds real texture and symbolic heft to the simple story--those speeding-camera shots of the water are wonderful!--and is aided by a sublime cast. Judy Davis gives what is, for my money, quite possibly the greatest performance ever captured on film. She has two scenes in particular--the initial confrontation with her ex-mother-in-law, and a lengthy conversation in a parked car with her daughter where she tries to explain and make sense of her life--that are just extraordinary. This is acting of the highest order and, like the film itself, rises above its meager melodramatic roots.

This film is a masterpiece of family relationships. The score by Pete Best is emotional and beautiful beyond words. A Suite is on CD. Google it.