Strangerland

After their free spirited, too mature for her age and nubile daughter Lily (a walking Lolita cliché) takes off with her brother into the desert the already unstable marriage falls prey to resurfacing old resentment. Nobody in the small sleepy outback town knows where she has disappeared off too yet many seem to have had some involvement. As the movie progresses we see the mother (Kidman) fall further in desperation induced mental frailty while dad (Fiennes) holds her responsible for their daughters 'adventurous nature' so to speak. Although it starts off well with what seems to be a wholesome plot, either a mystery or a psychological thriller, it lingers and resumes in exploring the relationship between mainly the parents and the towns people. Some over-dramatization doesn't do the plot any good and by the end it leaves you hanging. It lacks a firm direction and goes on tangents instead, many scenic shots, dramatic outburst and at last an unsatisfactory ending. It is the indecisiveness that irritates. When presenting a strong leading plot line it needs to be followed through, at least partly. Fiennes and Kidmans' performances are impeccable despite the failing script.

Is this a drawn out domestic drama or an under-written mystery? It doesn't matter. Just glad I don't have to see these people any more. They were far too long on the screen. Haven't seen a hospital without doctors or nurses before! Admired actors for giving it their all.

Trouble is stirred up in a stifling hot Australian desert town after the two children of new arrivals Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes go missing...and everyone who came into contact with them becomes a suspect in their disappearance. Well-acted study of stunted small town lives, with Nicole Kidman particularly gripping as the sad, desperate mother of the kids (a promiscuous teenage girl and her restless younger brother). Some of the drama has a prickly edge, and the dialogue is strong, however the supporting characters are not a terribly interesting lot, while the simmering tempers in this dust bowl town are not used to heighten the tension (director Kim Farrant treats it as subtext, preferring to focus on the embattled married couple). Repetitive aerial shots of the mountain terrain and surrounding desert grow tiresome (arty yet unrevealing), but the complicated scenario is enough of a draw for admirers of character studies. ** from ****

Tensions flair between a couple living in the outback when their son and daughter disappear during the night in this Australian mystery thriller. The film is drooped in atmosphere with eerie aerial shots that emphasise the isolated nature of the outskirts town, some very moody skies and an absolutely haunting music score. There is a constant sense of something sinister afoot, and as the two parents learn increasingly shocking things about their children in their quest to find them, their disappearance serves as a catalyst: a wake-up call for just how out of control their kids are and how they have failed as parents. Everything progresses at a deliberately slow pace and it is understandable why some might not take kindly to the film since it plays out as more of a Michelangelo Antonioni mystery movie than a standard Hollywood thriller. There is, however, a lot going on beneath the surface and the chief drawback of the film, if anything, is how elusive this all remains by the end. There is the slightest hint of childhood sexual abuse, the vaguest suggestion of the kids being afraid of their own parents - but frustratingly, nothing is ever clear. The ambiguity with regards to their daughter's disappearance is, on the other hand, an excellent touch, highlighting that the film is primarily about the parents and their gradual, mutual realisation that they are not entirely satisfied with their lives and each other. Indeed, while the small town setting initially seems to represent freedom and escapism from past mistakes, in the end, the setting only forces them to confront their inner demons face-on.

The best things about this movie are the cinematography, the acting (despite the lame script) and the beautiful and haunting outback locales. The story is so strung out...so stretched. The whole thing could have been told in 30 minutes. As it is the story is padded out with long and luxurious takes of the outback, the stereotypical outback town (of which there are very few these days) and the side story of Kidman's character losing it big time.

I am thoroughly sick and tired of Australian films these days (yep-I'm Australian). They tell off-beat boring stories or focus far too much on the outback that the rest of the world must think we all live in the desert with koalas and kangaroos for pets, speak with an appalling twang and drink copious amounts of beer whilst swatting away huge flies.

Here's the reality... Most Australians live in large cities or suburbs not unlike LA (I know LA so I can compare our cities quite well). Few of our films deal with our cosmopolitan and multi-racial population. Aussie films either show whitebread Aussie families or Aboriginal families in distress. No mention or filming of the other ethnic groups here.

Now whilst trying to tell tales about your culture is a laudable thing, to make a film truly internationally interesting it needs to sell to a wider audience otherwise our film industry will always be relegated to the quirky sidelines while Hollywood conquers all.