Australia Review
Australia wants desperately to be the big sweeping romance it purports to be. It’s expensive, its long, its romantic…and its also kind of dull.
Director Baz Luhrmann spared no expense making this epic about a cattle drive across the titular land, as the numerous lovely shots of nature and huge scenes of cattle runs and battles attest.
Strangely though a number of scenes are clearly greenscreened. This is odd considering the movie cost over a hundred million, but doesn’t really distract too much, since this is not exactly an indie drama.
Australia might as well stop kidding around and start singing, so theatrical is the film in its visuals, dialogue, “message”, narrative, emotions, everything.
Most of the cast has managed to find a nice comfort zone in which to play Australia‘s melodramatic emotional scenes, not overdoing it, which would have been the death knell to this nearly too-melodramatic film.
The exception is Nicole Kidman, who acts as though she is literally performing on Broadway, she overacts as though she is trying to make sure the guy falling asleep in the back row catches every expression and emotion.
Hugh Jackman, who actually starred in the similarly region-titled and over-long Oklahoma on Broadway, actually does very well here. He seems to understand a theatrical film does not mean theatrical acting is appropriate.
Did I mention it was long? Literally it could have run 100 minutes and it would have worked fine. The plot has neatly wrapped up around that time, so much so that when the film restarts, it lumbers.
Oh yeah…most of the conflict is contrived
A lot of the problems faced by Hugh and Nicole as cattle drivers don’t hold up to logical scrutiny, rendering them tension-free.
The one part that’s actually pretty good
The relationship between Hugh Jackman’s rough cattle hand and his Aborigine partner is heartfelt, not overdone, and communicates the film’s message of racial equality eloquently.
When you can take a bathroom break and not really miss anything
Anytime you want. Seriously. It’s not The Usual Suspects, and it’s really long. You’ll get the main idea pretty easily even if you miss a chunk.
-Dan Benamor
2 responses to “It’s Kinda Like “Oklahoma”, Only Without the Dance Numbers”
Like most fans of Hugh we are at one in that whatever the film large or not so large he works hard puts his heart and soul into the film and if I have not been kee on the film Van Helsin comes to mind even in that fiilm with so little script he delivers.
I am really jumping up and down in eager anticipation of this film and scope he has in the film should stretch the great talents he has, I agree he is one of the very very few who are extremely successful in musictals but totally aware when making a film the performance must change – so he doesnot overact. I will ook forward to the scene with the Aborigine he know exactly how to handle. I remember seeing Swordfish and Stanley [Hugh] has scene with high screen daughter Holly and that was beautifully acted just enough to let a tear slip down my face. Watched that scene a few times. Good luck Hugh – the first time I saw you was on the London Stage in Oklahoma it was spell binding and I have not missed a film yet. I am still plugging for that Oscar – many are called but few are chosen – you will be chosen DeadlyHedley
There were so many times when I thought the film was over, just by the direction of the plot, but since I already knew the run-time I knew it could not possibly be over. This was bad because I felt a sense of obligation to stay and watch, not a true desire to do so.
Au contraire, I liked Kidman’s acting. It was dramatic, but it was not annoying (see Jennifer Carpenter in “Quarantine”).
Overall, an “okay” film…