Jindabyne

There are similarities between Ray Lawrence's "Jindabyne" and his last movie "Lantana" – a dead body and its repercussions for already dysfunctional lives. But whereas "Lantana" offered some hope and resolution, "Jindabyne" leaves everything unresolved in a bleak way that will leave most viewers unsatisfied, perhaps even cheated.

The storyline - the aftermath of a fisherman's discovery of a corpse floating in a remote river - is based on a short story by Raymond Carver. It became an element in Robert Altman's classic 1993 ensemble "Short Cuts". Lawrence uses this theme for an exploration and exposition of relationships within a small Australian community under stress. The movie poses some moral questions "Would you let the discovery of a dead body ruin your good weekend?" and more poignantly for Australians "Would it make any difference if the dead person was an aboriginal?" The acting, especially by Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney, is commendable. And there are elements of mysticism reinforced by haunting music, not unlike "Picnic at Hanging Rock".

If all this sounds like the basis for a great movie - be prepared for a let down, the pace is very slow and the murder is shown near the beginning, thereby eliminating the element of mystery. And so we are left with these desolate lives and a blank finale.

This is a 'typical' Ray Lawrence film. Similar in its dark view of the world, to his earlier 'Lantana'. The same slow, deliberate, menacing pace, drawing out evil in every corner ("shades of David Lynch's Twin Peaks" here). Our good ol' boy Aussies (one a transplanted Irish), on a weekend trout fishing trip away from their wives, 'park' the corpse of a murdered woman they discover floating in their stream. They continue with their fishing, not reporting the find until leaving the site - for which they are intensively and unremittingly attacked by all and sundry on their return. The fact that the dead woman is an Australian Aboriginal person adds to the 'political' impact of their offense. Through all this, the real serial killer (who we see from the first scene) hovers menacingly nearby.

An interesting, if somewhat cynical, view of the highly charged inter-racial atmosphere in the Australian community: white guilt and 'political correctness'. Who are the real villains here? Our 'politically incorrect' (and morally vacuous) protagonists? Or the murderer? Accoring to Lawrence, the former, apparently.

Taught and tense throughout, the film lacks a real resolution, opting instead for a rather 'weak' ending through the redemption of the fishers.

I recently saw Jindabyne in Cannes and it is a brilliant movie. Thanks to a wonderful cast and Ray Lawrence the script comes alive on the screen.

Four fishing buddies find a dead girl in the river. They don't report their find until a few days later. This causes anger and disappointment from their families and the rest of the town; reactions they don't seem capable of understanding.

Byrne and Linney, especially, turn every line and every second into an intense moment. They're human beings, and it shows. You understand why their characters act like they do, but you don't always accept it.

A fishing trip gone bad is one way of looking at JINDABYNE, but then you would miss the whole mystery of this film and how it examines the lives of others in a small Australian town, which on the surface may seem perfect. But in JINDABYNE you soon learn that beneath the ripples of the lake lie other factors which swirl to the surface and create a fascinating film and story. The wind whipping through the trees and the power lines that dot the hills make for a perfect background for this film.

Laura Linney, once and again, and Gabriel Byrne are two superb actors that make JINDABYNE come alive with strong performances, as well as from a seasoned cast. JINDABYNE offers us a film of human tragedy, as seen from both sides of the racial coin, and is a very timely film with all the evils that go on within today's global stage. In Ms. Linney, her face always mirrors a million emotions, and Mr. Byrne is the perfect foil for a marriage with issues. The final scenes are powerful and leave you with a question of, "what now might Jindabyne be in the near future?" However, with that said, I felt the film could have been edited a bit more tightly, and not taken so long with the development of characters and the build up to the final conclusion. But in watching the face of Laura Linney and her inner expressions, along with the writing, one can forgive the length of the film.

In the Australian town of Jindabyne, the former race champion Stewart Kane (Gabriel Byrne) works in a gas station with his partners and friends Carl (John Howard), Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis) and Billy (Simon Stone). His impassionate marriage with the unstable Claire (Laura Linney) has an unresolved issue since Claire left him when their son Tom (Sean Rees-Wemyss) was born. The great passion of Stewart is fishing and he organizes a weekend fishing trip in a remote river with his three great friends. On Friday afternoon, they park the car and hike and camp in the spot; while fishing, Stewart finds the naked dead body of an aboriginal young woman floating on the cold water. Stewart ties the leg of the woman to an arbor and they spend the weekend fishing. On Sunday afternoon, they return to the parking area and report their finding to the police. When the press releases the information, their public and private lives are deeply affected and the disturbed Claire questions Stewart's attitude while trying to help and apologize with the family of the dead aborigine.

"Jindabyne" has a storyline of great potential, with a morbid and polemic study of moral aspects of human (and consequently flawed) characters. Unfortunately the screenplay is not good and looses the focus of the main storyline entwined with many parallel and unresolved plots of supporting characters. Why Caylin-Calandria has such weird and morbid behavior? (It seems that because of the death of her mother, but it is never clear). The character of the old man that killed the aborigine is not developed. Why Claire became dysfunctional with the birth of her son? Why Stewart is still married with Claire? The attitude of Claire against her husband is annoying and in Brazil we have a saying that states "with a friend (or in this case wife) like that, Stewart does not need enemies". Anyway, the locations in Australia are stunning, the cast has great acting and it is worth watching this movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available