Saturday 18 July 2015

I've Just Seen: South Solitary (2010)

South Solitary (2010)

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/542a01a5e4b045ffbddea3ec/t/542cdb39e4b03ba5671e629e/1412225849995/
Director: Shirley Barrett
Writer: Shirley Barrett
Notable Actors: Miranda Otto, Marton Csokas, Essie Davis, Barry Otto

This Australian film follows Otto's Meredith Appleton, who moves to the island of South Solitary with her lighthouse-keeping uncle. She experiences isolation and alienation from almost everyone on the island.

The visuals of this film are its great strengths, as well as the performances. The island is a beautiful place, but certainly far from society. The sound of the waves never gives up, and the colour is often washed-out. Miranda Otto gives Meredith a girlish confidence that slowly dissolves throughout the film. Csokas' Jack Fleet is a strong, silent type, and plays it well. The young girl Meredith be-friends is wonderful, really funny and well-acted by Annie Martin. There is also an assortment of animals, including a very cute sheep and some fickle carrier-pigeons.

The film is effective but a touch insubstantial, with a subtextual romance going on at its centre.

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