Fine, fine filmmaking. The kind of psychological thriller that emphasizes the psychology over the thrills. A smart, affecting and heart-twisting film. Try to picture American Beauty crossbred with Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage and transposed down under, except with a sublime sense of tragedy and surprising reserves of passion. Just like Bergman's life work, it's a remarkable and unforgettable study in human relationships and the human condition itself. An exceptionally good Australian picture.
Holy perfectness. This movie draws you in and doesn't let you go until the credits roll. What suspense! The story is so original and won many Australian Film Awards. Unfortunately, it missed out on the Oscars. Such potential, I am surprised it missed out. Five Oscar-worthy performances in this gem. Anthony LaPaglia was terrific. I always see him as a cop, though. I wish he would go beyond that or he will be typecast as a cop for the rest of his career. He did a great job, though. Geoffrey Rush's character is such a mysterious person. When he comes on screen the atmosphere is so heavy and suspenseful. It's great. Barbara Hershey, for me, was the best. She is so underrated as an actress and I wish people would appreciate her work more. She gives the best performance. Awesome movie... probably one of my new favourites. I've always loved Mystery movies and this one has to be one of the best I've seen... ever. Wow. That's all I can say because this film takes the words right out of my mouth. Just watch it. You'll know what I mean.
This solid, well acted story weaving in the woes of adult relationships should have had Hollywood taking particular notice of this impressive and overlooked Australian effort starring Anthony LaPaglia and Barbara Hershey. This is a delicate and complicated story of men and women getting tangled in adultery that somehow is subtly meshed within a baffling murder mystery. This does get complex but still remains surprisingly credible and keeps viewer glued with interest and fascination. Geoffrey Rush lends a subdued yet solid support but it's Kerry Armstrong's performance that like this story will tug at your heart strings as well as challenge your thinking.
Truly heartbreaking film. Great Aussie cast, and although it's terribly angsty, I felt such compassion for all of the characters. This is a film about real people.
The obvious inspiration for sister film Jindabyne, Lantana is stronger simply by account of a more focused plot and a larger, yet still interesting cast of characters. The big theme here is infidelity of many kinds - betrayal of trust in general - and the murder here is a perfect conduit for revealing these things.
Anthony LaPaglia has always been kind of a one trick pony, but his trick happens to suit him very well here. He's a prick, but not a totally unapproachable one; the issues that he certainly has seem like ones that could be ironed out with the right kind of attention. You want the character's circumstances to improve, so he can improve himself. Geoffrey Rush is fantastic, handling a crucial character twist so flawlessly that it breaks your heart. Barbara Hershey and Kerry Armstrong are also interesting as the women involved in these affairs, Rachael Blake makes a solid studious neighbor, and the young couple are suitably optimistic and likable. The performances are all even and intelligent, suiting the ensemble cast perfectly - it is exactly what the movie needs to flourish. Because so little ultimately happens in Lantana, the characters are what the movie needs to shine, and shine they do.
I guess I could elucidate that obvious titular metaphor for you, but the movie does it pretty blatantly. The kind of explosive blooming of many different people...
I have long regarded 'Bliss' as the most interesting Australian film. What a pleasure to have a second film from Ray Lawrence. I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years for his third, or, if we do have to wait, that it is as good as 'Lantana'
Wow.. what can I say about this movie.. more so.. what can I say to critise this movie. The acting is absolutely superb, the storyline is full of mystery, passion, suspense and of course love, the music is haunting and surreal, the cinematography is paintstakingly real and i could just go on forever. One of the truly great Australian films.. two words= see it!
Easily the best Australia movie in the last decade - though this isn't much of a compliment. You never quite know how this one is going to work out until to end. A great piece of film-making.
This movie was recommended in dsoul's profile. I hadn't previously read anything about it. Hell, I didn't even know Anthony LaPaglia did anything besides 'Standard Italian Character #67'.
But, that's the nice thing about Flixster. Exposure...Exposure...Exposure. So, what have I got to say about this one? Well, let me just say, for the most part, it made me REALLY glad not to be in a relationship...at least not in many of the ones depicted here.
The viewer had a challenge if they wanted to solve all the mysteries before the end of the film. The plot takes a few good turns and convinces you that you know what the hell happened...only to find out...yeah, you're a dumbarse...it didn't happen that way at all. I don't like being a dumbarse...but, I like being surprised by a plot that isn't entirely predictable.
Though I liked the film, I didn't develop real fondness for any of the characters. So, I wasn't as emotionally impacted by some of the scenes as I might have been. If you already find yourself in the position to make bold generalizations like 'ALL Men are Pigs', this movie isn't going to improve your outlook. Basically, they cheat, they lie, they don't pick you up when you're stranded, they do dumb things like throwing shoes in the bushes, and they say mean things like 'This isn't an affair...It's a one night stand that happened twice'. But, if you can cut men some slack and accept them even with all their faults, you might want to rent this and see some of their vulnerabilities too.
A well made Australian mystery with an intriguing plot and star cast. It had a little too much of a 'human interest' slant for my personal viewing preference though.
Wonderful Aussie flick, very gritty and dark, with many layers. A really tight-knit ensemble cast work well together to bring this thriller/drama to life. It may seem disjointed, but it all ties together at the end. Credit to LaPaglia and Rush and the rest of the cast for a brilliant piece of cinema.
The nature of trust and how it functions in our relationships. This by far the best australian movie made (yet)..the magic of this film is the relationships that the characters have with each other and the things that are not said. Joe Lapaglia is awesome in this soaking himself in the character and giving you warts and all this detective who is at a junction in his life. Directed with great subtlty I recommend this movie to serious film freaks.
Interesting how all the characters' lives collide. It's filmed in a way that you care for all the characters quite equally, though I wish the Geoffrey Rush character did get a little more time. Lapaglia is wonderful as the torn, adultering husband/cop.
The issues touched upon in Lantana - mid-life crisis, grief, adultery, murder - have all been covered many times by many films. And yet, this movie still manages to feel original and stand out from the rest. Perhaps that's because the story cleverly presents characters that we can sympathise with and like - in spite of the fact they are all flawed and screwed up in some way. This could be due to the extremely realistic dialogue and performances - which portray genuine and believable human reactions, rather than the over-intellectualised tosh you often get in this type of film. The plot also contains enough twists and turns to make this a very credible mystery story and keep you guessing as to the fate of Barbara Hershey's character. As far as I'm concerned, Anthony LaPaglia is one of the best actors in the business - and he's surrounded in this film by many other talented actors, some of whom are relatively unknown.
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