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Perhaps the directionless, airy mood of the recently released “Australia” starring Hugh Jackman (Drover) and Nicole Kidman (Lady Sarah Ashley) was simply the result of some secret intention by the director to imitate the eponymous continent’s geography. This two-and-a-half-hour war epic-cum-romance-cum-comedy is strung with action and emotion on the outside, but its interior is as dry and nearly useless as the Down Under’s vast central desert.
Having watched the trailer prior to seeing the movie, I was pleased when the film opened with a scrolling narrative offering the historical background of the story. The trailer advertised the film as a gripping World War II epic with a love story, the twist being that it takes place in Australia, so this sober opening seemed appropriate. However, the film suddenly takes off listlessly thereafter.
For the first 20 minutes, the mood is that of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Violence is simple sport; drinking reduces men only to clumsy, laughable fools and the humor is bawdy, offering nothing clever.
While his role as a youthful but mysteriously powerful protagonist is immensely refreshing, if overtly cute, the childish narration by the half-aboriginal, half-white Nullah (Brandon Walters) nevertheless serves to shred to tatters the last bit of serious belief a viewer may have. When a pivotal death suddenly occurs (reacted to emotionlessly by Kidman), it seems as though the film may start behaving as advertise. Instead, it simply slips lazily around, unsure of what its story means.
A disjointed plot, semi-intelligible accents and mishandled scripting serve to further abet the unsteady confusion of the film.
Is it an epic action film? Sometimes. A cattle drive scene – yes, the film actually has more to do with cattle than war – brought me to the edge of my seat. The air raid scenes later on served to capture the hysteria of battle. Still, these moments develop little significance for the primary characters, and the inclusion of a too-familiar musical montage served to further dilute the theme.
Is it a romance? Hardly. The film opens with a typical tough-guy-versus-uptight-lady, tit-for-tat which somehow, with no provocation other than Hollywood gilding, turns into romance. We learn little about the characters, particularly Kidman’s Lady Sarah Ashley, and their slowly undulating love story lacks real passion. Why do they love each other? Are they married? Do we even really want them to fall in love?
Is it a comedy? No. The only part that made me laugh was the too-close-up of Jackman’s face as he enters the fancy ball as the newly clean-shaven knight in a white suit. The cinematographer’s examination of Jackmman’s visage through a soap opera-like lens made me snort unwillingly.
In all of this, there could have been discussion of serious issues. Australian Aborigines and blacks play their parts in a movie that intends to balk at racism and cultural degradation, but they instead become a backdrop for a story about white people. War is treated almost bloodlessly, and the chronology never seems to become quite square with the history it is based on.
In short, if you are looking for a film lacking substance, where hair stays neat, jokes are easily won, minorities are punch lines and romance simply happens if you shove two undeveloped-but-pretty characters into a script together, then “Australia” is the film to see. Otherwise, don’t bother. Grade: D
