Australia: A Movie As Big As the Opening Title

cocobytes Review
Even before “Australia” began playing in the cinema last night, there were so many ads shown prior to it with the tagline “proud sponsors of Australia the movie” that I was in no doubt I was about to see a movie called “Australia”. Is it necessary to pump us with even more “Australia” advertising just before it starts? You’ve already got my ticket money – let’s leave it at that.

“Australia” is definitely a spectacle to behold but then that’s what Baz Luhrmann does best - produces fabulous extravaganzas of epic proportions. He set himself a very bold agenda and on a broad scale he delivers. Luhrmann works with the same mantra as he did on “Moulin Rouge” – big, ambitious and dazzling is better. But is it? It worked to some degree for “Moulin Rouge” but does it work here?

Luhrmann delivers every cliché in the rule book. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but we have seen it all before. Apparently Luhrmann referenced every Australian movie that’s been made as well as a good deal of American movies whilst researching for “Australia” and frankly you can see that whilst you’re watching it.

Scenes from movies previously viewed kept flying through my head – “Pearl Harbour”, “Dirty Harry”, the Dunkirk scene from "Atonement”, “Titanic” etc etc. The settings and styling were so stereotypical, it’s like they borrowed a big reference book of ideas, designs & clothes of that period in history from the library and proceeded to copy them exactly.

Out of the actors, the one true standout is newcomer Brandon Walters who plays half –caste “Nullah”. He is unaffected and natural next to the overhyped performances around him that you feel drawn to his story which is somewhat brief as Luhrmann has a lot to cover before the movie finishes.

The actors are fairly typecast in their various roles and their Australian accents are so over the top Aussie twanged, it’s just silly, if not just a tad condescending to assume everyone speaks like that. Hugh Jackman for one, sprinkles his conversation liberally with the word “Crikey” a little too often.

Other solid performances are given by David Wenham who plays the not so nice Neil Fletcher and David Gulpilil as Nullah’s grandfather King George. Lead actor Hugh Jackman is clichéd but strong if only because he is playing against Ms Kidman.

Which brings us to Nicole.

OK so I have waited till the end to mention her and there is just one word to describe her performance – demented.

Her face is so absurd that it’s impossible to take the woman seriously. I have never seen a person with eyebrows at such right angles. She permanently only has one expression throughout the movie – a sort of psychotic stare that she uses to convey every emotion – rage, happiness, concern, sadness. I was also drawn to her ever changing lips. In some scenes they looked so huge and plumped, it’s like she went into her trailer for a quick injection during lunch breaks.

If you did manage to get past her face to at least take on board her acting skills, well you were wasting your time – that was dreadful too. It’s cringe worthy and over the top where it needn’t be. Nicole just cannot act. Life has made her far too self-conscious to ever be able to deliver a good performance now. She couldn’t really act pre-botox and now not at all. It’s a harsh sentiment but unfortunately true.

In the end “Australia” is watchable but not enough to move you and if you can get past the spectacle of Nicole Kidman’s unlined face against the cracked dry backdrop of the outback, you just might enjoy it.