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- Cert:
- Running time: 121 minutes
- Year: 2001
- Released: 23rd August 2002
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
- Rating: 8/10
Director:
- Ray Lawrence
(Bliss, Lantana)
Cast:
- Leon Zat: Anthony LaPaglia
John Knox: Geoffrey Rush
Dr. Valerie Somers: Barbara Hershey
Sonja Zat: Kerry Armstrong
Jane O’May: Rachael Blake
Nik Daniels: Vince Colosimo
Michael: Russell Dykstra
Paula Daniels: Daniella Farinacci
Patrick Phelan: Peter Phelps
Claudia: Leah Purcell
Pete O’May: Glenn Robbins
I’ll start with a confession:after watching this film, I didn’t have theslightest idea why it was called Lantana. I looked it up and made aninteresting discovery. It turns out lantana is a type of dense floweringshrub belonging to the same classification as magnolia. NowMagnolia(the movie) if you recall, involved a group of seemingly unconnected characterswhose intertwined relationships were explored through the course of thefilm. Would you be stunned to learn that Lantana involves a group ofseemingly unconnected characters whose intertwined relationships areexplored through the course of the film? Strange but true. To be fair,Lantana does try to spice up the formula by adding a murder mystery but, asin Gosford Park, the mechanics of the mystery are far less important thanthe characterisations.
The film opens with a long slow panning shot over thick undergrowth, untilwe discover the dead body of an unidentified woman. We’re then introducedto almost a dozen major characters dwelling and working in a suburb ofSydney, and we gradually learn their stories piece by piece Leon, apolice detective, is unhappily married to Sonja, who secretly visitspsychiatrist Valerie. Valerie and her husband John are also having marriageproblems, ostensibly stemming from the murder of their young daughter twoyears before. Leon is having an affair with Jane who is estranged from, butstill married to, Pete. Jane is a neighbour to Paula and Nik, whoseinvolvement grows as the film progresses. Another patient of Valerie isPatrick, whom Valerie comes to suspect is having a homosexual affair withher husband.
To reveal any more than that would be to detract from the many pleasuresthis film has to offer, as layers are peeled away and chance encounterstake on greater significance. Occasionally, the number of coincidencesthreatens to get slightly out of control and begin to border on thestatistically improbable, as you wonder how a small group of people in acity the size of Sydney can have so many interactions. This isn’t a majorproblem though, and it allows little seeds to be planted in the mind of theaudience regarding the secrets some of the characters might possess.
The central theme throughout is trust, or more specifically, lack of trust.Almost everyone it seems has something to hide, although not necessarilyfor nefarious reasons. What drives everyone on is the need for love,acceptance and companionship, but this is constantly jeopardised bysuspicion and distrust – between husbands and wives, fathers and sons,doctors and patients, friends, colleagues, neighbours. One of the filmsmost telling scenes occurs in a police interview room, when Leon can’t bareto be in the same room with a couple whose marriage contains more love andtrust than his own, even though the man may be guilty of murder.
Lantana won every major honour at the Australian Film Institute Awards, andit’s not difficult to see why. The acting is simply exemplary throughout.LaPaglia (who I thought was doing a very good Australian accent, until Ifound out he actually is Australian) brings a great deal of humanity to abrute of a man. Rush and Hershey, the most recognisable of the actorsinvolved, both bring a quite dignity to their roles as a couple being tornapart by grief. The lesser known Australian actors all do excellent work aswell, with Armstrong, Blake and Colosimo all picking up fully deservedawards. The script is intricate and intelligent without being convoluted orpretentious and the direction is crisp and unobtrusive. This is a film thattreats its audience with respect and refuses to offer any easy solutions orprepackaged happy endings. If you enjoy slow burning movies in the style ofLone Star or The Pledge, then this comes highly recommended.
Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2002.E-mail Paul Greenwood
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.