by Annette Basile
Worth: $10.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Sophie Reynolds, Sandy Keayes, Cameron Mighell, Kira Nelson, Kirsty Woods
Intro:
Sandy Keayes is magnetic ...
Shane (Cameron Mighell) has just tried to step in front of a train. He’s saved from the suicide attempt by his friend Lily (Sophie Reynolds). This all happens just before the film starts, and we first encounter Shane and Lily as they depart the station, safely aboard a Melbourne train. Lily seems more stressed about what she’s just been through in saving Shane than she is about his mental state.
Soon, we’re back at Shane’s and meet the tough but vulnerable Astrid (Sandy Keayes) – and there’s real tension between the two young women over what should be done with Shane, a talented poet. Astrid winds Lily up. Lily takes the bait. Things are getting interesting, and become quite involving as the three decide to drive to Victoria’s north east to take Shane to a retreat.
Along the way, there’s a car breakdown and misadventure at a fairground. The tension between the two women is palpable, each jealous of the other’s hold on Shane. Lily is also dreaming about a nameless woman, and so far, so good.
And then the complex Lily does something not terribly nice, and, for a while, the story moves exclusively to Astrid, who, like Blanche DuBois, depends on the kindness of strangers. Astrid will wind up at a commune, and this is where things will become clichéd, and the narrative – which had flowed so smoothly – loses momentum and lands on an ending that is just a tad too tidy.
Keayes is magnetic as Astrid. A model making an impressive big screen debut, she outshines the supporting cast that she interacts with (many of them extras plucked from the local community). While Keayes tends to be a natural focus, Mighell’s Shane and Reynolds’ Lily essentially match her.
Hats off to writer/director Jack Johnston – who has a string of shorts behind him – for making this film on a thread that came from a frayed shoelace. Everything Grows in Eden was made for just $9000.
Perhaps that’s why the filmmakers didn’t quite make the most of the rural scenery. The natural beauty does feature here and there, but the film lacks a cinematic quality. The low-key soundtrack adds little, and, at over two hours, this film can’t really justify its running time.
Yet Johnston shows natural instincts as a writer/director, with an assured grasp on character and dialogue, while his young, inexperienced central cast more than deliver. It’s worth keeping an eye on them all.
