HOORAY. A movie that really does live up to the hype.
I must admit I was little worried walking into the cinema after months of the most prodigious advertising campaign an Australian film has ever received, but as the lights went down and little Brandon Walters appeared on the screen all my fears were laid to rest.
For those who have somehow missed all the TV interviews, behind the scenes programs, news articles and online debates, the story is as follows: English Aristocrat Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels to Northern Australia, just before World War Two, to protect her cattle property from being taken over. To do so she enlists The Drover (Hugh Jackman), her polar opposite.
Their story is told with voice over (which I usually despise but it does actually work here) by a little Aboriginal boy, Nulla (Brandon Walters), who is living at Lady Ashley’s property.
As the very long story progresses (it’s nearly three hours so stock up on the caffeine before you go in) the characters have to solve a murder mystery, prevent Nulla from becoming another member of the Stolen Generation, fight a greedy landholder and survive the bombing of Darwin. They didn’t call it an epic for nothing.
Australia has everything. It’s an adventure, a romance, historical, educational, humorous and even moving. But the stand out feature is Brandon Walters.
It’s not too often that an eight-year-old outshines Hugh Jackman but, in Australia, Walters steals every scene. More than just a cute kid, he holds the whole story together and manages to display a mix of innocence and wonder with the maturity of a child forced to live in an adult world.
The rest of the cast deliver strong performances too, albeit overacted in parts, but it suits the the old-fashioned love story style.
The bonus for Australian audiences will be the fun involved in pointing out all home grown favourites with just about every Aussie actor there is making at least a brief appearance on screen.
Better yet is seeing all those well-known faces actually speaking in their own accents. You don’t really notice how much US crap we all watch until you see something truly Australian and realise what you’ve been missing.
The film was definitely long but there was so much going on that you don’t get bored.
And the ending worked. After numerous revisions and test screenings and Luhrmann foolishly announcing to the world that Jackman doesn’t die (way to spoil the surprise!) they found the conclusion that works.
Australia was always going to be one of those movies you just have to see and, thankfully, it’s turned out to be something you’ll enjoy too.
Bit of action, adventure, romance, and a serious look at the Stolen Generation - it’s got everything.
And best of all it’s got Brandon Walters. Watch out for this kid. He’s going to be a star.
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