Palm Beach

Frank (Bryan Brown) is having a big birthday party so he invites his best friends Leo (Sam Neill) and Billy (Richard E Grant) with their spouses and families to his house in PALM BEACH. It doesn't take long for the grudges, old and new, to emerge and the old secrets refuse to be buried. The commotion that rocks the three families threatens to ruin the holiday. What will it take to get things back on track?

Exploring the nature of a true family, that goes far beyond blood relations, PALM BEACH is a colourful portrait of a lifelong friendship with all its outcomes, good and bad, beautiful and ugly.

While the dining table drama-comedy has become its own sub genre in France (Little White Lies, Namesake) and Italy (PERFECT STRANGERS) middle class families rarely take centre stage in Australian film.

Palm beach takes a very Australian approach, avoiding high concept drama, it is breezy summer fun that focuses on the characters' onscreen chemistry. Sam Neill and Bryan Brown celebrate their birthdays together in real life, and it shows. Add a great location, breathtaking views, a catchy seventies soundtrack and you get an hour and a half of a cosy dramedy where jokes are never forced and funny, and the sad moments ring true.

Director Rachel Ward (who is also credited as one of the writers) gives an unexpected depth to a simple story, makes some basic ideas look interesting and fresh, and manages to deliver the point without preaching.

Some films are a remedy and a getaway from real life problems. See this movie. Be this party's crasher. You won't want it to end.

I did not see this movie in a theatre but on TV. And whilst some of the reviewers did not like it all, because it was all about wealthy sixty odd people. But I enjoyed it and as I know that Bryan Brown and Sam Neill are good mates, I wasn't disappointed. It was a great cast to see all together and although the story was bit obvious, i enjoyed it. Very typical Australian lifestyle !!

I really do not understand the negative views on this film which I found to have a lot going for it. Intelligent script, good acting and well drawn characters results in a fine film. The cinematography was stunning given the location and although the lifestyle depicted is not something the average Joe would be over familiar with it demonstrates that no matter how well heeled you are, friends and family face problems that all can in some way relate to.

Sure this has been done before, most notably The Big Chill, but this was a refreshing Aussie version. The cast was distinguished and they all contributed to a satisfying and entertaining movie. The plot of old friends getting together over an extended weekend in a beautiful part of the world and then years of dramas in the group bubbling to the surface is not new, but this treatment worked. I enjoyed the revelations and must admit they were sometimes unexpected. The locale was spectacular and I can see why it was supported by NSW tourism. All told I'm glad I saw it. Well done to the team.

Nobody expects originality in the 'old buddy life-audit' genre. Ask any baby-boomer to name their favourite and it is likely that The Big Chill (1983) will pop up as the benchmark film. The structure is always the same: long-time friends reconnect around a milestone event which slowly descends into sub-plots of secrets and discontent, flavoured by a soundtrack evocative of youth and unfulfilled promise. Palm Beach (2019) follows this format exactly. However, instead of reflecting on the youthful idealism of the 1960s, it is set in a modern context of insatiable white middle-class privilege for an ageing group of malcontents, especially of the male variety.

The single impressive feature of the film is the spectacular panoramic Palm Beach setting on Sydney's Northern Beaches, filmed beautifully with lingering shots of every lovely lighting angle the wealthy can afford. The views are complemented by a stellar local ensemble that includes Bryan Brown, Richard E. Grant, Sam Neill and Greta Scacchi, all of whom play such evenly predictable parts that there may be arguments over whether anybody actually stars in this production. The sourness of this ageing cohort (nobody is seen happy) is given light relief with a few young offspring and a couple of sight gags.

The film's entertainment value rests on comic tropes, blended into a potpourri of indignities familiar to the seniors' demographic. These include nostalgia over failed careers and unresolved affairs, depression, drug abuse, sexual impotence, disappearing libido, disputed parentage, wealth envy, sagging bottoms, and even a breast prosthetic thrown to the floor with a rubbery flump. The flat tension curve is given an upward blip with a psychotic episode where the host becomes so incensed that his panoramic views are blighted by a neighbour's chimney that he attacks it with a sledgehammer. The only other moment where viewers' pulse rate might rise is a boating accident that rudely interrupts the enjoyment of views and fine wine. Given the spoilt misery amongst the group, it is laughable when one of the wives suddenly tries to leave her hapless husband but relents feebly with "just promise me that the next ten years will be the best time of our lives".

Palm Beach is pretty to look at, light-hearted and mildly entertaining. It is also slow moving, over-acted, and lightweight. It will probably have a short shelf life and struggle to find audiences beyond the well-off suburbs around Sydney. It could have been so much better.

Director: Rachel Ward Stars: Bryan Brown, Richard E. Grant, Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi