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.

This film takes place in rural Australia in 1965 at an all-male boarding school with a young man named "Danny Embling" (Noah Taylor) recounting what his life was like during this time. As it so happens, while watching a rugby game with his good friend "Gilby Fryer" (Bartholomew Rose) Danny just happens to meet an attractive African girl named "Thandiwe Adjewa" (Thandie Newton) who attends the all-female boarding school across the lake. Although their conversation doesn't last for more than a minute or two both of them feel a certain chemistry toward each other which results in further meetings--some sanctioned and others in clear violation of school policies. But as their affections for one another increase so too does the risk with each secret rendezvous. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a good "coming of age" film which successfully dealt with the emotional attachments of two people for one another against a backdrop of racial prejudice. That being said, although I liked the performances of both Noah Taylor and Thandie Newton, I must admit that I thought the ending could have used a bit of improvement. Even so, I enjoyed this film for the most part and have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

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.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)

Don't let the title fool you. Although this is one of the sweetest movies you'll ever see, it is no beach blanket bingo for bimbos. This is an Aussie story of teen love set in 1965, heroic as only teens can play it. It is fun to watch, authentic and original at the same time, a coming of age flick in the English boarding school tradition of "Dead Poet's Society" (1989) and "A Separate Peace" (the novel, not the so-so movie). Noah Taylor stars as Danny Embling, an outsider who reads Sartre and Camus while satirizing the school's empty traditions. Across the lake is the girl's school where Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton), daughter of the Ugandan ambassador, is learning to meld with the Aussie pale faces, including a gifted pre-Hollywood Nicole Kidman.

Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor, as beautifully directed by John Duigan, are the reasons this film is so good. She has a fearless integrity about her that overcomes the prejudices of her school mates. He is wise and brave at a hundred and twenty pounds. She too is ultra sophisticated. She even met Sartre. This is a story about the love between two outsiders who, with their strength of character win over not only their classmates, but the audience as well. Imagine teenagers as witty and poised as say Eartha Kitt and Gore Vidal, and you get a hint of how it's played.

Nicole Kidman as the snobby Nicola Radcliffe (the name says it all) manages a subtle supporting role with a diamond-in-the-rough kind of charm and just the right touch of on-screen growth. The scene where she shares her stash of vodka (or perhaps a clear fruit liquor) with Thandiwe Adjewa is beautifully turned by Director John Duigan. Also excellent is the hotel scene where the adults are revealed as intrusive in the extreme. I like Danny Embling's line as he deadpans to a re-robing Thandiwe, "They're all funny, aren't they?" Yes, those adults are a little peculiar.

This is not unflawed, however. The ending, despite the rousing music, seemed a bland washout, leaving us with a sense of disappointment. And I thought the first love scene with the two "touching" was a little unreal. I mean he might have kissed her! There's a limit to how great a coming of age, boarding school movie can be, especially when the adults have only scarecrow parts. Nonetheless "Flirting" is a confectioner's delight, and one of the best coming of age movies I've ever seen.

Those who've watched The Wonder Years will recognise the style of storytelling here. The main character is also the narrator, there's an ongoing reference to world events, there are adolescents growing into maturity, and there are some wonderfully rounded and recognisable individuals.

Both main characters experience discrimination, including in Thandie Newton's case, racial discrimination both overt and implied - e.g. an Australian lad says to her "Your English is very good", to which she responds "So is yours"!

On the surface it's just a coming-of-age school story, but the film continually rises above this to greater heights of poignancy and subtlety.

Nicole Kidman is brilliant in the difficult role of the head of school who apparently has it all until, in one of the most moving moments of the film, her true self is revealed.