The Settlement

Reminiscent of George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men, Bill Kerr and John Jarratt arrive in an outback town looking to hustle a few quid. But in hooking up with barmaid Lorna Lesley, they incur the wrath of the conservative locals. Without forcing the issue, director Howard Rubie succeeds here in celebrating individuality rather than sniping at the muddled morality of the Australian majority. His only false step is in allowing Catholic cop's wife Katy Wild to be so shrill in whipping up animosity, while the performances of May-December lovers Lesley and Kerr and the guileless Jarratt are spot-on.