Last Cab to Darwin

What a terrific film on all levels. It's been released for a few weeks now, but drew a reasonable sized crowd on a Sunday night on the back of strong press reviews. I think it's going to continue to pull in crowds on the strength of word of mouth recommendations. Including mine.

Generally I'm not a fan of Australian films but this one is great. Starting with the cast. Michael Caton was excellent and had surprising depths in his performance that I never expected him to have. The only weak link in the cast is Jackie Weaver, despite having "Academy Award Nominee" forever attached to her name now. Even though many of the support cast were not well known actors, only Weaver's acting was poor. She looked like "I'm acting this" with nearly every line she delivered. The young guy who played Tilly was fantastic - and surprisingly convincing in his one emotionally vulnerable scene.

Secondly, the script. I heard one radio reviewer say that the dialogue by 'blackfellas' in movies is usually very obviously written by white writers, and rarely rings 'true'. Similarly, writers who want to shoehorn Australian colloquialisms into a movie or stage play often do it in a very clumsy way. But in Last Cab to Darwin, the dialogue does ring true and the writers are to be congratulated.

Next, the themes. This is not a 90 minute 'quickie' of a movie. It has real depth, not just on the issue of euthanasia, but also on black/white prejudices in country Australia, and the movie doesn't skirt around indigenous social problems either.

Then there's the scenery. Spectacular. And I bet the places featured along Rex's road trip enjoy an upturn in visitor numbers in the next year or so as a result of this film.

Finally there's the humour. It is quintessentially Australian dry humour and it's quick and subtle and sprinkled throughout. The best line is the one about the dog's name. Still making me chuckle even now - as much as anything because you didn't see it coming at the time and Michael Caton's delivery was perfect.

As Molly Meldrum would say: do yourself a favour and go and see it.

Michael Caton has been a fixture on Australian screens since the 1970's thanks to TV shows like 'The Sullivans' and 'Packed to the Rafters'. His voice is quintessentially Aussie and his face and personality have made him a household name. His casting for this film is perfect and I can't even imagine another actor as Rex; so perfect is Caton, and such a gift for an actor who has mostly been the family uncle or grandad. Here he is, front and centre; stoic, three dimensional and instantly likable. Director Jeremy Sims, himself a TV and film actor, has elicited an award worthy performance from the veteran, but also helps young actor Mark Coles Smith as Tilly, make one of the year's best supporting turns. The camera just loves his wicked grin and his playful, easy charm. The film pulls no punches with some of the content surrounding both the indigenous characters such as Tilly, or the circumstances and realities of euthanasia. I was disappointed with Jacki Weaver here: she never looks or sounds comfortable with her character, and that is unfortunate as it is a linchpin to the film's trajectory, but Caton's 'Rex' is so unforgettable, that he carries even the weaker elements of the movie. Beautifully photographed and capturing the visceral parts of the landscape and the terrain, 'Last Cab To Darwin' is not a perfect film, but an enjoyable and significant one, and a rewarding one for its leading actor.

I thought this one of the best movies I have seen in a long, long time and up there with the Castle and the Dish. I thought the acting throughout good and especially Michael Caton and the actor who played Tilley who I found to be a lovable rogue. The story line was sad, but was very thought provoking when thinking about and discussion euthanasia. All in all I really enjoyed the story and especially loved seeing the outback of Australia. I cried a lot but I also laughed a lot and would recommend this movie to any age (except children of course) and hope that many people go to see it. I also hope that it is up there when the movie award come out.

I saw this film yesterday, choosing it over both "Fantastic Four" and "The Man from UNCLE" and it was a good choice. The trailer - which I saw on tube - only gives you the basic scenario of the film, but NOT what it's about. I have to admit I chose it because it featured Michael Caton, who was also in another classic Aussie film *The Castle*. He, and the other actors in this film have been cast really well. I particularly like Ningali Lawford-Wolf as Polly, and Mark Coles Smith as Tilley.

The film made me laugh and cry, partly because it tapped into my own family history, But I loved the background to this story - the red and greens of the outback, the houses with tin roofs and rock fences - they remind me of Kalgoorlie where I lived at an early age . Also the film, which is based on a play by Reg Cribb, doesn't shy away from social issues that won't go away, but is ultimately uplifting in what it says.

Scriptwriter Reg Cribb and director Jeremy Simms have taken the true-life story of Max Bell and put a lens on attitudes about the right to die and aspects of Australian society most of us rarely see.

The film, based on Reg Cribb's 2003 stage play, commences in Broken Hill. Rex, a cabbie played by Michael Caton, has a long-standing relationship with Polly his Aboriginal neighbour. Both have somewhat abrasive personalities, but they complement each other perfectly.

When Rex is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer, he learns that the Northern Territory has legalised euthanasia. He decides to leave and drive his cab to Darwin to have an assisted death rather than face a lingering one in hospital.

Rex's trip to Darwin is not unlike the journey of the three protagonists in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", its across roughly the same area and ends up in the same place, but like that earlier film, it's also a journey of discovery. Along the way, Rex becomes involved with a number of people and they change each other's lives.

Although the film alters Max Bell's experience considerably, "Last Cab to Darwin" allows for another journey; the one through the divide in Australian society that started in 1788 when the original inhabitants and the European settlers were thrown together.

The film seems to reinforce certain stereotypes about Indigenous Australians, especially in the role of Tilly (Mark Coles Smith), however in other ways it shows them as more sharing and less obsessed with material possessions. Tilly's character emerges as a complex one, although brash and cocky on the surface, his underlying fears and self doubts are revealed.

The setting for the film is during that brief period in the mid 1990's when euthanasia was legalised in the Northern Territory, but was quickly shut down by federal law. The film doesn't necessarily advocate euthanasia though; both sides of the argument are played out.

Finally, the performances are so real that some scenes are hard to watch. Michael Caton gave us a modern Australian icon with his Darryl Kerrigan in "The Castle", but he surpasses himself here.

The last scene in "Last Cab to Darwin" is a lump in the throat moment. Maybe the film won't have much of a following outside Australia, but its central theme of the right to die with dignity is universal.