Australia- Review #6

Baz Luhrmann has done it again. He has made another Baz-terpiece. It is called Australia, and it is an unabashed love letter (as my sister puts it) to the continent from one of its most celebrated filmmakers-But Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman firmly put their signatures on this love letter as well with two fine and entertaining performances. I really enjoyed the chemistry Kidman and Jackman created. Kidman is such an ethereal, regal, and talented actress. I love her talent and professionalism. She is definitely in my top three fave actresses list. A miniscule part of why she is a fave of mine is that She is an extremely adept comic! Luhrmann harvests this talent from her particularly well. (Watch for this in Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge as well-for which Kidman SHOULD HAVE WON THE BEST ACTRESS OSCAR! >:^/) As far as Hugh Jackman goes, he is perfect in the role of the diamond-in-the-rough leading Man. The Meeting- and then relationship development between Kidman's Lady Sarah Ashley and Jackman's Drover is somewhat cliche, but I never really minded for a minute. (Jackman can clean up pretty well, too! :-D Just watch the movie and You will see what I mean!)

To touch on the plot just a little, Sarah Ashley arrives in Australia to check on Her husband and their Cattle Station, Faraway Downs. She arrives only to find her husband murdered and Herself between a rock and a hard spot, because She feels that She must sell all of her husband's Cattle in order to avoid the loss of Her husband's assets to a crooked Cattle Station manager (Neil Fletcher played by David Wenham) that Her husband hired. She persuades Drover, an independent Cattle drover to help Her transport the 1500 Cattle to Darwin. There are so many characters that I could discuss, but needless to say, Lady Sarah Ashley and the not-so-prim-and-proper Drover are drawn to each other, and through the rough go in getting the cattle to Darwin, they are plagued by plots of Niel Fletcher to gain a Cattle monopoly partly by taking away from Her Faraway Downs. This includes a fire, poisoned water, and murder-not to mention the fact that Fletcher is the father of a Half-Aboriginal boy, Nullah(Brandon Walters) who becomes more and more like a son to Sarah Ashley as the film goes on. Fletcher goes to great lengths to hide this. Nullah and his mother live on Faraway downs as help to Sarah. (The shameful history of the treatment of the Aboriginal people of Australia known as the "Forgotten Generation" and the Half-Aboriginal children known as the "Stolen Generation" is acknowledged in a very sensitive and meaningful manner, but to try to do justice to this disgrace in a film is basically impossible, but Luhrmann did what He set out to do.) The character Nullah in this film is a young boy -about eight- who tries to protect his mother and his self but tragedy happens to his mother and Kidman's Ashley grows to be more protective and deeply attatched to Nullah. I think to go any further would be too much of a spoiler. This film, which is an epic Western/War Drama all in one is lengthy(about three hours long) but enjoyable. Each character is representational of larger forces and groups in Austalia and its history , of course, but the characters are fleshed out well and are engaging. It is well done on many levels and layers even though a film like this is likely to bite off more than it can chew. It is BIG and EPIC!!

One last thing, the Cinematography is BREATHTAKINGLY fabulous! That is due mainly to the fabulous and rugged Australian landscape itself. So breathtaking! (Laura Ashley's primness and proper ways are unconquerable, but the untamed beauty of Australia does something to her that matures her sensibilities and relaxes her uptightness-and of course Drover has something to do with that as well.) I think that Australia is a fine film, and a fun one. I dig Baz Luhrmann's artsy style and sense of fun, humor, and grandeur. Good on Ya, Baz! I give this film 3 out of 4 stars.

Note to readers from Ms. Holm: Don't give up on Me! A Slumdog Millionaire Review is forthcoming!