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Fri 27 Dec, 2002 08:12 pm
Have any of you seen my favourite film in recent years - Lantana?
If so, I'd be interested to know what you thought of it.
I just LOVED it! Great plot, terrific acting, good choice of music, etc., etc ... Suspense & an interesting study of the lives of all the characters. I recently saw it again, on video & discovered subtle aspects of the plot I'd missed the first time around. Engrossing.
If you've seen Lantana, I'd be very interested on your opinion of it.
This is terrible. I saw it once and all I have is a vague recollection that I loved it, but the specifics are lost. I seem to remember the poor Barbara Hershey character practically killed herself because of insecurity.
Could you remind me?
I remember thinking it was so sad. Thanks for bringing it up. I'm going to rent it again.
Yes - liked it - but not, it seems, as much as you, Olga - found it a tad thinnish. 'Twas a lovely, stylish, interesting film though.
However - you have moved me to have another look on video.
I loved Anthony La Paglia's performance - so strong and complex and real - I always find Kerry Armstrong annoying!
I saw it almost a year ago and commented on it on Abuzz back then.
It is a bit hazy to me at this point but as I recall the plot twists of whom was having affairs with whom was a bit bizarre by US film standards but it was an interesting movie. There were a few slow moving sections but for the most part it kept your attention because you had to keep guessing what was coming next and when someone would slip up and the house of cards would come tumbling down.
Lash Goth
The first time I've attempted to send a link ... Fingers crossed!
http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/reviews.php3?id=766
Hey, it worked!
But there has to be an easier way to do this!
Lash
Yes, there was a sadness to it ... the midlife crisis of Anthony P, the confusion & guilt he felt. And the Barbara Hershey character! Struggling to find meaning after the death of her daughter. This event seemed to be really what killed her. Trying to reach her husband, feel less alone & not quite getting there. I found it very, very moving.
dlowan
Funny, your reaction was the exact opposite of mine! I found it complex & rich, in the exploration of the various characters' lives, their hopes & disappointments ..... And I liked the way that we kept suspecting the wrong people of the murder. Also found Kerry Armstrong's character very credible .... Maybe Sea Change ruined her credibility for you as a serious actor?
Thanks msolga. I remembered the mechanics of the affairs and the intertwined realities, but I've lost the nuances. I do remember Rush and LaPaglia earning a followed interest.
Some movies, you watch. Some cause you to feel. The Hershey character was so injured by her child's death, and then spiralled into clinical suspicion and insecurity when it seemed she was losing her husband, too. The truck driver's innocent move, I think to get her pocketbook, scared her to death, literally if I remember correctly. Is this how you remember it? I am hazy about what happened in the truck...
fishin'
I loved the moodiness of it! And the way that the different character's paths & lives crossed. Funny, I didn't find it bizarre at all ...
I wasn't wild about the film, but I'm certainly glad I saw it. The film was based on a play "Speaking in Tongues" by the same author. As hard as it was in the film to keep track of who was who and who was doing what with whom, it was worse on the stage where four actors played eight roles. After seeing the film, I had a better perspective of the play.
flyboy
Sorry that you found it confusing to follow. Most likely it was easier for Australians, as all the characters are familiar faces via film & TV.
I didn't know it was based on a play ... It's hard to imagine it limited to a stage. The settings (& sounds) seemed so important to the story.
Hmmm - I will certainly get it on video now!
I find there is always a brittle, almost hysterical quality to Armstrong that rubs me the wrong way in all her roles - perhaps it is too close to home?
I hope you enjoy the second viewing better than the first, Deb.
I thought Kerry Armstrong's performance in Lantana was the most restrained I've seen from her.
And g
Geoffry Rush at the end! (sigh) Such emptiness, such sadness ..
Yes, it was based on a play which was well received in Australia and England but not here. Here is a link of a review of the play from "Variety".
http://www.acmewebpages.com/articles/0111vrty.htm
So the reviewer didn't like it, huh?
It certainly sounds like a confusing mish-mash of a performance!
Lash
Re Hershey's death in the film: You know, I'm not sure! Think I'll have to rent it again & have a 3rd look! In my mind, the death of her child was what really ended her life.
And the ending?: A few of us had an interesting discussion at work about it - was all hopeless or was there some cause for optimism? I was of the latter opinion - Anthony Paglia & Kerry Armstrong's tentative dance suggested to me that they were willing to continue, to try again ... Others felt that they were estranged by that stage, with little hope of a proper reconciliation possible - hence their awkwardness with each other, fear of touching ..
The play was indeed a confused mish-mash. I probably would have enjoyed the film more had I not been conciously and subconciously trying to correlate the film with the play.
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