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Lantana | Year: 2001 Classification: Drama Directed: - Ray Lawrence (II) Actors/Actresses: - Barbara Hershey - Anthony Lapaglia - Geoffrey Rush unpredictable mystery with a Mike Leigh feel Despite the fact that the character intersections seemed a bit convenient, Lantana is really an interesting film. It mixes the slice-of-life characters usually found in a Mike Leigh film with a good mystery. Like a Leigh film, director Mike Lawrence doesn't care to make his leading character heroic, just human. While this is usually the death knell for a mediocre film, it works here because the overall story isn't melodramatic. It's about a bunch of people with tangled lives that make and poor choices. It's also about the opportunity for redemption, which some characters get and some characters miss by the end of the film. A lot of why it works is because you're conditioned to think certain character will behave in certain ways, because movies are usually predictable. Here, their actions are don't follow any patterns like in real life. The cop isn't all that heroic. The psychologist can't answer her own problems. The cuckold is really a decent guy. Anthony LaPaglia and Barbara Hershey are really good in this, and Geoffrey Rush, a favorite of mine, gives a nice simple and honest performance. Intelligent, Ingenious, Compelling. Australian Director Ray Lawrence's second movie and his first for 17 years is an articulate, intelligent and totally compelling examination of human relationships, as well as a thought provoking thriller. Award winning and critically acclaimed, this is the type of movie that Oscar should be honouring, instead of the commercial Hollywood formulaic mediocrity the Academy often seems to prefer. Lantana opens with camera panning down through a tangle of shrubs to reveal the dead body of a woman, stockings ripped and one shoe missing. Immediately drawn to this image we are led to wonder who the dead woman is and to wonder how she died and who killed her but rather than this being merely a thriller it is also a highly intelligent and very rewarding examination of troubled marriage. The title 'Lantana' perhaps doesn't translate well to most countries outside of Australia. It is never explained during the movie, which is a bit of a shame, because Lantana (the name of the tropical shrub which surrounds the deceased) is used as a metaphor for the web of tangled relationships portrayed throughout this film. At the centre of the plot is Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia), a burnt-out forty something Sydney police detective. Over-weight and troubled by chest pains, he is conducting an affair with a woman by the name of Jane O'May (Rachael Blake), who is separated from her husband. Meanwhile, unbeknown to Leon, his unhappy wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong) is seeing a therapist, Valerie (Barbara Hershey) about their troubled marriage. However, Valerie's own marriage is also in crisis: Following the death of her 11-year-old daughter her husband (Geoffrey Rush) no longer engages in sexual relations and appears to deliberately avoid spending time with her, whilst often 'working late at the office'. Leading Valerie to suspect her husband of a homosexual affair with one of her clients, Michael, who appears to be baiting her. A third couple are also central to the plot and become embroiled in the tangled web; unemployed Nik (Vince Colosimo) and his wife (Keira Wingate) live with their kids next door to Leon's mistress, Jane. Nik is friendly with Jane's estranged husband, Pete (Glen Robbins) but overlooks Jane's 'affair', on the advice of his wife, when he spots Leon leaving his mates house. Meanwhile two other relationships between gay Michael and his married lover and Leon's police partner and a mystery stranger also play out in this beautifully judged, thoughtful and well-written movie, adapted by Andrew Bovell from his original stage play, Speaking in Tongues. Not only is 'Lantana' well-written and well-directed but it has depth. At its core are the central themes of trust, grief, fidelity, betrayal and redemption. Anthony LaPaglia (The Client, So I Married An Axe Murderer), Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey and Kerry Armstrong all give great performances, subtly conveying a broad range of emotions throughout the course of the movie. In particular, LaPag Good movie! Four couples are intertwined in this slow paced thriller. Eight persons are involved in different emotional levels, where the lpneliness and the hopeless are the common denominator from this very interesting human puzzle. La Paglia makes a sensnitive role ; obviously Hershey and Rish makes the conflictive couple in which the script will focuse. Rachel Blake as the lover of La Paglia is surprisingly good , she looks freh and very natural. Buy Lantana at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Lantana Search with the Priority Search Engine on Lantana This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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