Film Review--Australia

Australia
directed by Baz Luhrmann
written by Baz Luhrmann, Stuart Beattie, Ronald Harwood, Richard Flanagan
starring Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters, David Wenham, David Gulpilil, Essie Davis, Sandy Gore, Bruce Spence, Wah Yuen

In the end it’s merely an overswept tear-jerker that uses ancient tricks to manipulate its audience into feeling cut and dried emotions that never quite pan out. Still, there are wide vistas, gorgeous photography and performances that don’t make a person cringe due to their blind excesses.

Australia is a massive undertaking both in terms of its length and its desired scope. It clearly wants to be an important film that delves into uncomfortable areas in order to extract a story that is poignant and worth telling. Indeed, it’s the story that ultimately fails this film that is basically a whisper away from being significant and possibly even great. Still, it’s wildly entertaining and doesn’t exactly feel like two hours and forty five minutes. It’s just that it’s sprawling where it should be economical. It makes to many grand gestures that by this stage in the game are decidedly cliche and come across as contrived.

Again, this should have been a film worth talking about. Strangely it’s a film that reveals its flaws more clearly the further away from it one gets. At first it is true that the overarching and melodious intentions of the film manage to get through. It does manipulate the viewer into being taken in by the great romance of the thing. But once the fairy dust evaporates the film reveals itself to be just another grand experiment that doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

The story involves two lives that intersect against the gorgeous backdrop of outback Australia. Certainly the cinematography by Mandy Walker is lush and hypnotic. It works as a picture postcard that will most likely lead to increased tourism throughout the area much like “Crocodile Dundee” did in the 80's. Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is a English socialite who travels to Australia in order sell her husband’s cattle station. When she arrives she is informed that her husband has been murdered and is told that an aboriginal has committed the nefarious deed. Most of the territory is owned by the tyrannical King Carney (Brown) who is attempting to forge a monopoly in order to secure a lucrative deal with the military. Ashley meets the hard scrabbled totemic Drover (Jackman) and convinces him to run her cattle to Darwin for sale. They assemble a rag-tag group and the resultant drive is fraught with complications that are directly linked to the unscrupulous machinations of a man named Fletcher (Wenham) whom Ashley has fired for being cruel to the young aboriginal boy Nullah (Walters).

Nullah evokes deeply concealed maternal instincts in Ashley. She becomes overly protective of him to the point that she flatly refuses to allow him to go on the ceremonial walkabout. The story meanders for a while and never seems to get to where it intends to go. After the cattle run it gradually fades into a standard romance that is so benign and pedestrian that it lacks the obvious punch the film makers were going for when they constructed it. What is left is a weeper about the sorry state of the relations between the aboriginal population and the government and polite society who treat them as second hand citizens. The film makes a clear point to demonize these practices and never fails to illustrate how precious and magical the indigenous peoples are. These are the types that appear in all the mythologically solvent textbooks that always portray the aboriginals as simple superstitious folks who rely on their supernatural skills to manipulate events to their favor. This is made readily apparent in the form of Nullah’s grandfather King George (Gulpilil) who never speaks but shows up from time to time as something of a guiding mystical spirit who is in touch with the elements and who sings hypnotic, repetitive songs to steer the course of events in a specific direction. There are moments in this film where the magical aspects of the story are indeed transforming and create a legitimate sense of mystery in the viewer. Nullah’s relationship with his seemingly ancient grandfather is a case in point.

The big romance evolves from initial contempt through a hard fought physical connection forged from difficult work, and straight through the necessary carnal pull that exists between these characters. In many ways the romantic aspects get in the way of the rest of the story. They are so hackneyed and deliberate that they lose their power to sway or inform. There is even a scene in the rain where the two primaries kiss and it’s a sign that this film is tapping the mine of classic screen romances a little too strongly. Granted the sexual chemistry between Mr. Jackman and Ms. Kidman is extraordinary. They sell the raw intensity of their relationship effectively and the result is enjoyable if not slightly regrettable.

The story is in essence a tone poem to the glorious Northern Territory. It evokes a land of charm ane elusiveness that is not much more provocative that a typical travel brochure. Indeed, the entire film seems to be nothing more than propaganda put forth by an Australian film company with designs to create a loving portrait of the area.

The conflicts in this film arise out of direct competition, excessive greed, an a policy designed specifically to breed the black out of the aboriginal population. Fletcher is portrayed as a heartless fiend who always appears accompanied by minor chords that inform the viewer that he is a man who cannot be trusted. His blind ambition gains him absolute control of Carney’s properties but he is not satisfied with what he has. He’s cruel, meanspirited and violent. The film portrays him as something of a demonic figure who possesses no human qualities until the very end when everything goes soft and even his character is slightly redeemed. It’s all in a simple facial expression but it proves that he is capable of exhibiting actual emotion regarding a tremendous personal loss.

The performances in this film all seem to work rather well in the overall context of the film. Nicole Kidman plays the tightly woven ice queen effectively. Kidman plays a special prize, a difficult aristocratic woman who can only be tamed by a hard man who is none too removed from the outback himself. Hugh Jackman is certainly physically viable in this film and he manages to convey his character’s tenacity and forthrightness. Brandon Walters captures the energy and inquisitiveness of his character and allows the audience to remain intrigued and follow his course. David Wenham has a sinister look in his eye for the duration of the film. He sells his character’s essential corruption through gestures and movements. There isn’t a single moment until the very end when the audience isn’t aware of just how we are supposed to read this particular character. David Gulpilil’s presence is felt throughout the film. Even when he is not on the screen one is afflicted by the way his character is employed. King George means the old ways, spirits, and ancient wisdom.


Overall, this film is mostly captivating to a certain extent but doesn’t move beyond a generic, standard story that is riddled with cliches. There is a sensuality to the film that comes from the performances by the two lead actors. In the final analysis the film just isn’t emotionally satisfying enough. One doesn’t feel the threats presented on screen and they come off as mere window dressing. The story should be vital, necessary and consumed with as much passion as it puts into the key romantic relationship in the film. There is a great film here but it’s barred from emerging by a series of obstacles that never allow it the chance to flourish as it ought to. Ultimately, it’s just a sappy love story and a tale of maternal longing that pretentiously tries to make serious comments about racism. It could have taken place anywhere.