The Echo of Thunder

It starts like a soap opera, or like one of those moralistic movies we see on Lifetime Channel... It promises to be just a little family movie.

However - it soon becomes an enriching experience, created with lots of generosity. True, without the setting in the Australian outback, and without the isolated family of farmers dealing with unique hardships, probably the movie would have been just a well-done small drama.

But the Australian charm and directness make all the difference. Definitely a "must see"!

A father living in the Australian wilds takes in teen-age daughter from previous relationship whose mother passed from cancer. Familiar plot but it is done well here. The irony and conflict is relatable, owing to a strong and perfectly casted team. Judy Davis is a reliable Australian actress whose work has been realistic. As is the father husband Jamie Sheridan who portraits rugged farm owner with a good heart and sense of right. Davis is his wife who reluctantly goes along with her husband's plan but has her own dfficulties. We see her toils away at tree farming, clearing brushes a lot. The movie paints a realistic picture of the hard farm life. Lauren Hewitt is the griefing daughter who suddenly has to learn to deal with her situation. A subplot helps propel the main story. And there are nice scenes in moments when Lara seeks solace, goes into the woods and a strayed dog comes to her, becomes her companion; in particular a fantastic shot of Lara looking over a bluff against white clouded sky as her background is quite memorable. Disagree with another reviewer who found this device prosaic. There is a tendency for critics to unfairly bash a chosen formula just because they have seen it in other films. Steak Bearnaise is a classic dish. You eat it once at one restaurant, and from here on no other restaurant should make this dish ? Finally, this being a Hallmark production should not lower your expectation. Anything missing - a good, dramatic score would have punctuated the drama much more; maybe even makes it oscar worthy.

For anyone who has seen several films produced by the Hallmark Hall of Fame, the basic style of acting and script will be quite familiar. The production is designed to be low-key, and you can be pretty much certain nothing too shocking will happen. Gladwyn (Davis) and Larry (Jamey Sheridan) are a couple who live in the wilderness of Australia with their three young children. When Larry's wife from his first marriage dies, his mid-teen daughter Lara is sent to live with them. You can extrapolate the basic drama from there.

In my experience, Judy Davis' style of performance seems to directly depend on her level of comfort with the character. I suspect, in this case, she was not particularly at ease. But it's not necessarily a bad thing, because her character is not particularly meant to be personable. Her reaction and attitude to the world around her is very defensive. Her performance and that of Lauren Hewett (Lara) are the main reasons to watch this. Like most Hallmark shows, it depends directly on the quality of acting.

There's some aspects of the plot that fall flat. The whole spirit guide mystical Hollywood Indian dog sub-plot is really lame. It's been done so many times, and it's never been done well. Overall, it's a good drama that is a pretty much A to B run, but with more than excellent acting to hold it together.

RATING: 6.9 out of 10

Much of this movie revolves around Judy Davis' Gladwyn and her teenage stepdaughter Lauren Hewett's Lara. Gladwyn is a tough woman in a tough environment, both location-wise and family-wise. The family is working hard to eek out a living in a land full of natural dangers. She has to watch over and protect her own three kids plus now she has her husband's first child whose mother has just died leaving her to her dad. Gladwyn isn't too friendly about the situation with Lara and while you can respect her toughness, she isn't going to fill you with warm fuzzies.

Lara is no slouch. At first it looks like she is going to play the woe-is-me card and act selfishly. Certainly her step-mom and oldest stepsister, Pearl, don't make it easy for her. The metaphorical slaps to her self-esteem keep coming through much of the movie. The second sister, Opal, though, takes to her giving her a meager lifeline. Lara also finds what appears to be a stray dog whom she boldly claims is "mine". Pearl through jealousy creates a real problem for her but later repents. Through all this, with two steps forward and one back most of the time, Lara perseveres while showing deep down that she is capable of a strong and loyal love and a toughness of her own.

I didn't like Gladwyn, but as I mentioned, I usually respected her. I started to really like Lara and rooted for her.

The acting is mostly good, except possibly for the one dimensional villain and neighbor boy Gawd.

In broad terms the movie is predictable, but getting there has some small surprises.

A girl tries to adjust to her step-mother and dad whom she hadn't lived with before. There are some downsides to the movie, but over all I liked it a lot. I like how the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies are usually heart-warming and emotional, as this one is.