Reviews

Wonderful study of resilience. Good hearts overcome potential human frailty.Chemistry between main characters is strong.

Family issues examined. Film avoids high moral ground.

Costner's character is almost understated.

The daughters character development somewhat sparse is a minor criticism.

Joan Allen's eyes highly expressive. Very clever casting throughout.

Great script from Mike Binder.

A little unsure whether the voice over is successful - perhaps that is just too contrived.

Certainly a very worthy theme.

Clever setting. Family rituals examined.

Great movie !

Throughout Australian Film there are many examples where the nobler characters tend not to say too much. They tend to be quite laconic, resorting to the occasional outburst which might take the form of a diatribe aimed at life's foibles. Murray Whelan, played cleverly by David Wenham, is depicted as one of those characters. His self deprecatory humour is typical of the genre and a breath of fresh air. For me this film exuded Melbourne. Although maybe just a little harsh on the State parliamentarian. Delightfully idiosyncratic. Some of the scenes around the factory were hilarious. Less convincing may have been the villain , Herb Gardner, played by Alan Hopgood, and Lionel Merricks, played by Sam Neill.