- Film Review
- Reviewed By John Ferguson
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4 out of 5
Having made just three movies in over 20 years, Lantana director Ray Lawrence isn't exactly prolific, but this drama confirms his status as one of Australia's finest film-makers. Based on a Raymond Carver short story that also inspired one of the plotlines in Robert Altman's Short Cuts, the film tells the tale of a group of anglers, led by Gabriel Byrne, who discover a dead Aboriginal woman floating in a river. Instead of reporting it immediately, they decide to wait until the end of the fishing trip to report their gruesome find. When word of their actions leaks out, the men find themselves ostracised by the town, the local indigenous community and, more specifically, Byrne's troubled wife Laura Linney. As with the award-winning Lantana, Lawrence elicits superb performances from the excellent ensemble cast. Although a subplot regarding the serial killer who murdered the unfortunate woman is less convincing, this is still a thoughtful, affecting study of modern-day morality, and the rugged Australian outback has rarely looked so chilly.
Plot Summary
Drama starring Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne. Stewart Kane (an Irishman living in the town of Jindabyne, Australia) has a passion for angling, so when he and three friends organise a weekend fishing trip, they are keen to have no interruptions. However, the discovery of the dead body of an Aboriginal woman soon has a shattering effect on their lives - and Kane's wife finds it impossible to move on.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Claire Kane
- Laura Linney
- Stewart Kane
- Gabriel Byrne
- Jude
- Deborra-Lee Furness
- Carl
- John Howard
- Carmel
- Leah Purcell
- Rocco
- Stelios Yiakmis
- Elissa
- Alice Garner
- Billy
- Simon Stone
- Caylin-Calandria
- Eva Lazzaro
- Tom
- Sean Rees-Wemyss
- Vanessa
- Betty Lucas
Crew
- Director
- Ray Lawrence
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