Striking up a friendship with his comatose
brother's best friend Douglas (Sebastian Gregory) might not be the best
way to leave behind his past, butit's not like he has much of a future. Filmed
in Australia but set in America, Aussie director Andrew Lancaster
(working from American Brian Carbee's script) does a spot-on job of
recreating 1982 in all its dead-eyed blandness.
It's
a tricky job to create this kind of twilight (meaning mood, not
vampires) world without pushing things into music video territory, but
he avoids the trite sentiment that often mars coming-of-age tales,
working hard to ensure the story earns both the laughs and the somber
moments that make this so believable. Sadly, the same can't be
said for all of the performances.
Geena Davis is great, but the teens
occasionally fail to fully express all the scripts' nuances. For one,
is there more than friendship between Billy and Douglas? It feels like
there might be, but the actors performances (which seem so assured when
they'replaying off against adults) are too hesitant to express the subtleties required. Acting wobbles aside, this is a rare example of a poignant tale of teen yearning that actually does feel heartfelt and true. DVD Special Features
The film was hardly a smash hit, in fact, in barely made a blip on
the Aussie Box Office radar (despite a promo tour of Australia by the
films star Geena Davis) - meaning : Good luck finding Special Features.
Then again, is it really the sort of movie you want MORE of after it's finished? Hmmmm, not really.
Conclusion:
Movie 60% Extras: N/A
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