"Knight Thoughts" - exclusive web content
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Baz Luhrmann returns with an old fashioned epic love story
The Epic of Oz:
Australia
11-26-08 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Australia
11-26-08 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Fans of Out of Africa, Dr. Zhivago, Gone with the Wind, and even a lesser known epic turkey called Far and Away (that starred a certain
Nicole Kidman and then husband Tom Cruise), Australia is the epic sized love story you've been hungering for. Patently false from
beginning to end, populated with stereotypical characters (down to a sneering villain), set against the sweeping landscape and large
scaled events, this is one of those old fashioned movies that they used to make before fidgety audiences didn’t have the ability to
text message each other at the slow spots.
But there is something to be said for the well made, old fashioned epic and if this is your thing, and you’re in the mood to sit still for
nigh on three hours, Australia is rewarding enough. The story follows a prim, upper class lady (Nicole Kidman) who in the late 1930s
arrives to join her husband at their Maryland-sized ranch Down Under, Faraway Downs (which reminded me of “Upson Downs,” the
name of the country house of the snobbish Upsons in Mame). But I digress…
Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) instead meets the rough hewn “drover” – cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) who works for the husband who
turns out to have been murdered by minions working for the local cattle baron King Carney (no relation to Art, I assume) (Bryan
Brown) who wants Faraway Downs for himself. Nic and Hugh, naturally, are like oil and water at first. “I mix with dingos not
duchesses,” Hugh tells Nic with her weird, unlined, embryonic face and puffy lips but soon Lady Sarah bewitches the Drover so when
she implores him to help her save the ranch, he can’t resist. Along with a ragtag group that includes Nullah (Brandon Walters) an
adorable, orphaned Aborigine boy, Nic and Hugh have to herd 1,500 head of cattle to the sea in order to break the monopoly held
by Brown. That having been achieved, the film next tackles the Japanese invasion of Australia and having separated over his desire
to be “free” and her desire to marry him, when, if ever, the Drover and Lady Sarah will reunite and whether they’ll find little Nullah to
boot. A history and cultural lesson is mixed in with the romance and Luhrmann throws in plenty of mysticism, Outback style as well.
Kidman and Jackman finally get parts that allow them to speak in their own native accents but sadly, there’s zero chemistry between
them (a friend pointed out, rather insightfully I think, that Kidman has yet to show chemistry with any of her leading men). And
frankly, Kidman’s little girl’s body and her unlined face, whether stripped of makeup or daintily applied, are completely distracting
(when she and Jackman finally kiss, her big, fleshy lips seem to swallow his). She’s just so odd looking now that every close up of
her throws one out of the picture. And placed in a two-shot with Jackman, with his million watt smile (complete with laugh lines) and
his almost palpable physicality Kidman’s odd looks are even more noticeable. Chemistry aside, the roles don’t ask much from the
two leads (or much from the supporting cast either) but the acting’s not the point here, the scenery and sweeping shots of it are.
Luhrmann, who co-wrote and directs his first film since 2001’s Moulin Rouge is clearly working on a dream project and the movie has
moments of stunning beauty that have been his signature (and the use of “Over the Rainbow” as a metaphor for the Outback is an
especially canny motif used throughout). But the movie has none of the other hallmarks of Luhrmann’s earlier works – no frenetic
cuts, no ramped up visuals – bound to be a disappointment for the director’s devotees. But I think this willingness to slow down and
let the story take over – old fashioned and phony as it is – is a good sign, a willingness on Luhrmann’s part to let the material
dictate the end result (it also gives me hope that Luhrmann’s next announced project, Wicked, arriving in 2010 will follow suit).
In the end, Australia is a movie that one remembers more for the set pieces – the stampeding cattle trouncing one of the characters
as they head toward a cliff, a blaze of stars illuminated by a lone campfire at night in the endlesss outback, a lone figure against the
vast space approaching on horseback, etc. – rather than the performances. It’s a very broadly drawn movie and being something of
a rarity, I’m inclined to encourage you to give this continent-sized epic a bit of a go. Nice sweeping music by David Hirschfelder,
helps too.
Nicole Kidman and then husband Tom Cruise), Australia is the epic sized love story you've been hungering for. Patently false from
beginning to end, populated with stereotypical characters (down to a sneering villain), set against the sweeping landscape and large
scaled events, this is one of those old fashioned movies that they used to make before fidgety audiences didn’t have the ability to
text message each other at the slow spots.
But there is something to be said for the well made, old fashioned epic and if this is your thing, and you’re in the mood to sit still for
nigh on three hours, Australia is rewarding enough. The story follows a prim, upper class lady (Nicole Kidman) who in the late 1930s
arrives to join her husband at their Maryland-sized ranch Down Under, Faraway Downs (which reminded me of “Upson Downs,” the
name of the country house of the snobbish Upsons in Mame). But I digress…
Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) instead meets the rough hewn “drover” – cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) who works for the husband who
turns out to have been murdered by minions working for the local cattle baron King Carney (no relation to Art, I assume) (Bryan
Brown) who wants Faraway Downs for himself. Nic and Hugh, naturally, are like oil and water at first. “I mix with dingos not
duchesses,” Hugh tells Nic with her weird, unlined, embryonic face and puffy lips but soon Lady Sarah bewitches the Drover so when
she implores him to help her save the ranch, he can’t resist. Along with a ragtag group that includes Nullah (Brandon Walters) an
adorable, orphaned Aborigine boy, Nic and Hugh have to herd 1,500 head of cattle to the sea in order to break the monopoly held
by Brown. That having been achieved, the film next tackles the Japanese invasion of Australia and having separated over his desire
to be “free” and her desire to marry him, when, if ever, the Drover and Lady Sarah will reunite and whether they’ll find little Nullah to
boot. A history and cultural lesson is mixed in with the romance and Luhrmann throws in plenty of mysticism, Outback style as well.
Kidman and Jackman finally get parts that allow them to speak in their own native accents but sadly, there’s zero chemistry between
them (a friend pointed out, rather insightfully I think, that Kidman has yet to show chemistry with any of her leading men). And
frankly, Kidman’s little girl’s body and her unlined face, whether stripped of makeup or daintily applied, are completely distracting
(when she and Jackman finally kiss, her big, fleshy lips seem to swallow his). She’s just so odd looking now that every close up of
her throws one out of the picture. And placed in a two-shot with Jackman, with his million watt smile (complete with laugh lines) and
his almost palpable physicality Kidman’s odd looks are even more noticeable. Chemistry aside, the roles don’t ask much from the
two leads (or much from the supporting cast either) but the acting’s not the point here, the scenery and sweeping shots of it are.
Luhrmann, who co-wrote and directs his first film since 2001’s Moulin Rouge is clearly working on a dream project and the movie has
moments of stunning beauty that have been his signature (and the use of “Over the Rainbow” as a metaphor for the Outback is an
especially canny motif used throughout). But the movie has none of the other hallmarks of Luhrmann’s earlier works – no frenetic
cuts, no ramped up visuals – bound to be a disappointment for the director’s devotees. But I think this willingness to slow down and
let the story take over – old fashioned and phony as it is – is a good sign, a willingness on Luhrmann’s part to let the material
dictate the end result (it also gives me hope that Luhrmann’s next announced project, Wicked, arriving in 2010 will follow suit).
In the end, Australia is a movie that one remembers more for the set pieces – the stampeding cattle trouncing one of the characters
as they head toward a cliff, a blaze of stars illuminated by a lone campfire at night in the endlesss outback, a lone figure against the
vast space approaching on horseback, etc. – rather than the performances. It’s a very broadly drawn movie and being something of
a rarity, I’m inclined to encourage you to give this continent-sized epic a bit of a go. Nice sweeping music by David Hirschfelder,
helps too.
