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The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

Any Questions For Ben?

The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

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Beautiful Kate (Film)

by Annette Basile | August 05, 2009 12:17 | Edited August 05, 2009 12:19

Confronting in its family drama, Beautiful Kate manages to simultaneously disturb and reward its audience with a strong, well rounded story and excellent performances.

As the commentariat whines about local films being too heavy, the uncomfortable and uncompromising Beautiful Kate - one of the finest Australian productions in recent years - gives the celluloid finger to the aforementioned whingers. "You think those other movies are bleak?" the filmmakers seem to be saying. "We'll show you bleak."

 

Beautiful Kate is about a family so dysfunctional that you need another word for it. Exquisitely shot in the Flinders Ranges, it follows Ned Kendall (Ben Mendelsohn), a forty-year-old writer who returns to his family's remote property to see his dying father, the belligerent Bruce (Bryan Brown). Ned is eaten alive by guilt surrounding the teenage death of his twin sister, the titular Kate (Sophie Lowe), and his reappearance stirs skeletons and secrets in the Kendall's airless closet.

Told partly in seamless flashbacks, Ned confronts his own disturbing past as he battles Bruce in the present. It's so real that you can smell the stench of Bruce's sick room, and the decaying property itself becomes a character - and a metaphor for Bruce's failures.

When Bruce and Ned go head-to-head, you're not just seeing two of Australia's best actors give their all, but a father and son unbottling a lifetime's worth of resentment and explosive rage. The supports are also flawless. As Sally, the youngest Kendall, Rachel Griffiths gives a grounded performance, while Maeve Dermody (Black Water) is excellent as Ned's sulky young fiancée, and Lowe (also impressive in the upcoming Blessed) proves that she's a talent to watch. With muscular direction from Rachel Ward (Brown's real life wife), who adapted the screenplay from Newton Thornburg's American-set novel - and enhanced by Tex Perkins' and Murray Paterson's score - this decidedly anti-popcorn movie does ultimately offer redemption and hope. It's an intense, disquieting experience - but a deeply rewarding one.