A complex web of thorny relationships... (Lantana (DVD))

Member Name: l-m-n-o-p

Product:	Lantana (DVD)
Date:	01/05/07 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Strong ensemble performances and a fascinating, intelligent story

Disadvantages: A bit slow; ending a bit predictable

Lantana is a critically acclaimed Australian adult drama, but not in the way you might think. “Adult” has come to mean erotic. Why can’t a film just be a serious, mature story for adults?

It tells the interlinked stories of a series of relationships, including a cop, Leon (played by Anthony LaPaglia), who is cheating on his wife (played by Kerry Armstrong); Kerry Armstrong’s therapist (Barbara Hershey) and her boring marriage to Geoffrey Rush; the woman Leon is sleeping with and the husband she is separated from (played by Glenn Robbins from Kath & Kim!); and the relationship between Glenn Robbins’s friend and his girlfriend, who incidentally live across the road from the woman Leon is sleeping with.

Don’t worry though, despite all the plot strands it’s surprisingly easy to keep up with who everyone is and what’s happening to them.

Although Lantana does have a focus on the sexual relationships between these characters, this complex drama is a study of characters’ emotions under marital stress, and also develops into something of a murder mystery part way through.

It’s excellently acted from a great ensemble cast – Anthony LaPaglia in particular is very good as the film’s central point, as is Kerry Armstrong as his unhappy wife, but there are no weak points. Geoffrey Rush is watchable as ever, and Glenn Robbins surprised me that he can do serious acting, not that he has a huge role anyway.

In case you’re wondering, Lantana is a spiky plant native to Australia, and it acts as a symbolic device throughout the film, representing the complex and metaphorically thorny relationships that we see. The film opens with a shot of a body, entangled in this plant, and this forms the starting point for the mystery element of the story. I think it’s a very well structured film, in that it hints at this story, but then seems to focus on establishing the relationships and their personal dramas, before leading back to the opening shot at the end of the film.

For the most part though, this film works best as an examination of characters and relationships, and on this level it’s realistic and often surprisingly powerful. The film has an excellent uneasy atmosphere thanks to its sombre lighting and sparse but well-used score, and all the characters are three-dimensional, with their own faults and mistakes.

I was slightly disappointed with the resolution the film comes to, after the great work that had been done in building up the links between these characters. Whilst the conclusion felt totally natural and was probably the most fitting way to end, I felt it could have been more meaningful and challenging, but settled for being fairly traditional. It was a little bit predictable.

It’s also fairly slow-moving, which will not be to everybody’s tastes, and although it has a running time of 121 minutes, it often feels like longer.

In all, Lantana is a well-meaning, well-acted, mature drama. Whilst the inter-linked stories approach will draw comparisons to films such as Crash and Magnolia, it lacks the explosiveness of Crash, and is instead more interested in the internal conflict and emotions of its characters. (I haven’t seen Magnolia). If you can put up with its coincidental nature (or even better, enjoy it, as I did), and if you want an intelligent film for adults, Lantana is well worth a look.
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I am reviewing the film only, not the DVD, and it’s available to buy online pretty cheaply; I found it on www.filmnight.com for £4.45.

Directed by: Ray Lawrence

Starring:

Anthony LaPaglia … Leon Zat
Kerry Armstrong … Sonja Zat
Barbara Hershey … Dr Valerie Somers
Geoffrey Rush … John Knox
Vince Colosimo … Nik Daniels


Classification: 15 (some language and sexuality)

Running time: 121 minutes

Year: 2001

My rating: 4 stars

Summary: An intelligent, powerful and well-acted adult drama