I just attended a special preview of the movie, 'Hating Alison Ashley' and I was interested in seeing the performance of Delta Goodrem. Not reading the book, I am purely basing my comments on the movie I saw. In short, Delta Goodrem's performance is stiff and she doesn't play a very convincing 'Alison Ashley'. Firstly, she is supposed to be a Year 9 student, but she looks way older than the rest of the students. She also physically looks bigger than the rest of the students, making it hard to suspend disbelief that she actually is a troubled Year 9 aged between 14-15 years old. Most Year 9 students are aged between 14-15 years old, so I guess setting the story at Year 12 would have changed the whole narrative. Therefore, the makers of this movie clearly wanted Delta Goodrem at all cost to be in this movie. Apart from these setbacks, it's actually a very entertaining and funny movie. It holds your interest for most part of the film, but it slows down when the students head to camp and prepare for the play. The early high school scenes look very lifelike and give you an impression of just how bad some State schools are. Jean Kittson was superb in her role, as was Craig McLachlan playing the simple minded P.E teacher. Tracey Mann should have put a little bit more effort into her role as the single mother. However, it's Saskia Burmeister that really steals the spotlight with her wonderful performance. She was believable, passionate and understanding of the role of the confused Year 9 student. Delta Goodrem on the other hand was not. Delta came across as rigid and excessive in her role of the girl from the 'right side of the tracks'. Just look out for the scene when she is talking to her mother from the camp's kitchen, she manages to hang the phone, while she is still talking on the phone. I guess she can only learn from her mistakes, but why do we have to see them on a good film like this? On the whole, I enjoyed the film!
