Review: Australia (2008)

[Homer Yen]

"Australia" - As Vast as the Outback
by Homer Yen
(c) 2008

For those of you that do watch the film, the consensus will be mixed.
And I'll certainly offer my thoughts in just a few moments.  But one
thing that we can all agree upon is that "Australia" is certainly one
of the best looking films that you'll see this year.  It has high
production values.  It features breathtaking beauty.  It has some
great special effects.  And, Hugh Jackman is a cowboy's cowboy while
Nicole Kidman triumphantly exonerates herself from last year's "Golden
Compass" debacle.

Let's start with our two stars.  The Sexiest Man Alive (Jackman, as
noted in a recent poll) plays a cattle herder named Drover.  And he
gets a few select scenes to show how sexy and romantic and manly he
is.  Drover's whole life revolves around the cattle drive.  He makes
good money when doing it, and he's very good at what he does.  He
enjoys the freedom that comes with freelancing.  He relishes the open
sky.  He's as free and as unbridled as the wild horses that roam the
countryside.  Opposite him is the English aristocrat Lady Ashley
(Kidman).  She comes to Australia to oversee a family-owned cattle
station that has fallen into disarray.  She is clearly out of her
element, looking little like a sturdy business head and more like a
competitor in a steeplechase.  The enormous difference across class
lines, coupled with the scope of the film, is the DNA of any great
old-fashioned melodrama.  Add in the prismatic skyline, the expansive
beauty of the open territory, imminent war, and the feel of
'what-an-amazing-period-that-must-have-been', and it's hard to go
wrong.

And, for the first half, it's nearly flawless as the Aristocrat and
the Cowboy join forces.  The military is willing to purchase her
livestock.  The profits can in turn be reinvested back into her
business so that they may once again prosper.  They need to avoid a
competing cattle baron that wants to ruin Lady Ashley.  Yes, this is
prime stuff.  The film is punctuated by a desperate attempt to herd
1500 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most
unforgiving land.  On their journey, they contend with unexplained
spiritual forces, evil-doing henchman, and even the death of loved
ones.  On such a long and dangerous trek, both cattle and human life
will be lost.

There is definitely a sense of triumph at the conclusion of this first
act.  And we can credit Lady Ashley for that as she grows up to meet
the demands of the situation.  In the second act, with war at
Australia's footsteps, different challenges present themselves.  There
is the fate of a half-white/half-Aborigines boy.  There is the test of
love and devotion.  There is the ongoing feud between Lady Ashley and
the cattle barons.  Yet, whereas it was Lady Ashley that had to grow
up in Act 1, it is Drover that must grow up to meet the demands of his
situation in Act 2.  Call me biased, but I liked Drover better as the
hard-driving, punishment-dealing, free-spirited cattle herder much
better than the wartime romantic.  His persona dulls.  His wild-horse
character becomes tame.

I'll just leave it at that.  The film's epic scope is as vast as the
Australian Outback.  But, it eventually becomes as long as her
shoreline.  Like the stock market, there'll be euphoria and there'll
be disappointment.  As a romance epic set against the backdrop of war,
it's not quite as engrossing as "Atonement".  Yet, because it is such
a beautifully made film and the chemistry between the two leading
actors certainly come through, I can honestly say:
"what-an-amazing-period-that-must-have-been!"

Grade:	B

S:	1 out of 3
L:	2 out of 3
V:	2.5 out of 3