Flirting

The irreverent Australian teen who survived the first advance of puberty in 'The Year My Voice Broke' finds himself enrolled in a strict, boys-only boarding school and attracted to a demure young girl (played by newcomer Thandie Newton, in a remarkably natural performance) from the equally cloistered girl's academy across the river. He fact that she's a refugee from Uganda isn't an issue (except to indicate how each is an outsider in their respective schools), and their refreshingly colorblind romance lifts the film above the average horny teenage mating ritual. Writer director John Duigan identifies every bane of post adolescent life (braces, pimples, raging hormones), but beyond that captures all the tyranny of petty academic oppression and the terrible yearning of sexual awakening, depicted for once without any bogus slow motion ecstasy or crass innuendo. With so many grace notes it seems mean to point out the usual irritating prop of unnecessary voice-over narration, and the unrealistic optimism of the resolution: teen romance rarely ends happily-ever-after, even in rose-colored memories.

The only reason I even watched this movie (at first) is because there was nothing else on tv, and I saw from the commercial that Nicole Kidman was in it. I'd seen Noah Taylor in the Tomb Raider movie and loved his dorky, scatterbrained performance. So I sat down and watched it. I was amazed. This movie is GREAT for a romantic person. The difficulty of the situation in Africa, combined with sad romance, repression, and brutality was enough to make me feel the emptiness that comes with the longing for true love that every girl and boy feels at one point or another. I rented the movie on video, and was surprised to find that very little was cut out; just a few slightly racier moments, and a foul word or two, plus one scene at the end was double-shot to have Thandie Newton in a bra and panties rather than naked. Rent it and watch if you're a longing romantic, or if you want to be one. Ah, love is such exquisite pain.

I enjoyed this movie. I particularly liked the way they referred to Camus and Sartre in such offhand ways. I think this is the type of move that you must see again and again to get the full impact. I plan to see it a few more times to soak in all the nuances of the plot and character formation.

I absolutely loved this film. This is the best of all the adolescent/coming of age/high school genre films. Set in the mid 1960's Australia at an all boys school (St.Albans....across the river from the all girls school). Our protagonist is a sympathic yet strong/intelligent character. He is constantly picked on by his peers (mild stuttering, intellectual, a bit different), but he takes everything in stride with the viewpoint that he's "offering them a service", "people need to put down others to feel better about themselves" (great line and greatly written throughout.). His eventual love is a new student at the girls school, she is from Uganda (British educated) and is different enough to be a target of ridicule from her peers. They both find each other despite the prison camp like conditions of their respective schools. The story is great, the writing is poetic, and the acting is superb. I can't believe I didn't hear of it when released. I found it in a local Library video department. The only thing I didn't like about the film is the title....."Flirting" just doesn't do this film justice. I came away from this film with a great appreciation for the writing and directing of John Duigan... though I haven't come across anything from him recently as good. Noah Taylor is an amazing actor... I would like to see more of this actor... in better films. I also thought the whole cast in Flirting were perfect.

This is Nicole Kidman's first major film role, and she is remarkable. The way she develops her character really has you going. I won't say more except that you'll love her. Taylor and Newton do a fantastic job in their coming-of-age roles. Newton is absolutely beautiful -- I fell in love.

The screenplay has excellent depth and is uproariously funny in parts, enraging, tender and even tear-jerking. It even has an underlying theme with incisive international political insights into events in Africa during the Sixties. Agree with the politics or not, it has a lot to say -- really a thinking man's film.

Some guys may dismiss it as a chick flick, but if so, it's one of the best I've seen. What may surprise many is that it even has one of the best boxing scenes I have witnessed on celluloid. Yes, the story is Kafkaesque in a way, but it is also terribly sweet. Taylor's lead role (Danny) is one of the most original I've seen on film -- the school nerd who is really a poet with more character than the rest of the school combined (including the staff). The entire film is his recollection of events, much of it narrated by him as though he'd written the screenplay.

When I saw it a couple of years ago, I wondered where it had been all my life. This is a must- see hidden jewel like Denzel Washington's "Mississippi Masala." It may not be as hot as MM, but it comes damned close in parts.