:
Abbie Cornish,
Sam Worthington,
Lynette Curran,
more...
:
Cate Shortland
see all cast/crew...
: Magnolia
: Drama, Foreign, Australia & New Zealand
: 106 min.
|
|
Heidi (Abbie Cornish) is a pretty teenager who leaves home after getting caught making out with her mother's boyfriend. She impulsively travels to Jindabyne, a snowy ski resort town, because she once met a man from there who said she should call him if she was ever in town. When that connection doesn't materialize, Heidi is forced to fend for herself with little money. Her first night in town, she goes to a bar, drinks, meets a boy, and goes home with him. She doesn't even notice Joe (Sam Worthington) watching her. The next morning, Heidi is dismayed to find that the guy she slept with has a girlfriend, and is on his way back to Sydney. Desperate and broke, she goes looking for work. Despite her good looks and charm, she's a bit too aggressive in trying to win friends and influence people. That night, she hooks up with Joe, and senses a connection between them. Instead of taking her home, he takes her to a motel. He seems reluctant to get involved with her, but she is persistent. The next morning, he hurriedly leaves for work. Joe works for his father, a wealthy farmer. Heidi meets the motel owner, Irene (Lynette Curran), who kindly offers to let her stay a couple of days, until she finds a job. Heidi ends up working at the local gas station with Bianca (Hollie Andrew). She begins to settle in, but her relationship with Joe deteriorates, her emotional instability takes hold. Somersault marks the feature debut of writer/director Cate Shortland. The film won 13 of the Australian Film Institute's annual awards in 2004, and was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
|
| Muddling Through
by talltale
July 28, 2006 - 1:52 PM PDT
|
|
|
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
|
It's always bracing to encounter a movie in which characters behave in ways real but not predictable so that you don't know who they are for awhile and can't easily tell what they might do next. SOMERSAULT is one such film, and though you may guess the ending, I believe you will not begin to know by what route and in what manner the film arrives there. This little Australian movie deals with themes of budding sexuality & what to do with it, class & place, parents & kids, and communication between generations & sexualities. The lead is a ripe high-schooler trying out her sexual wiles in some rather odd places, which makes for often embarrassing times for her (and us viewers).
There is nothing really groundbreaking here, but the writing and direction (Cate Shortland) and performances (Abbie Cornish and Sam Worthington, in particular) are on a high enough level to pull us along believing and wishing that things were otherwise. Another mark of above-average intelligence is that Shortland's scenes go on just long enough and her characters possess the knowledge to understand that things should be better without knowing how to make them so. There are no out-and-out villains here, just a lot of mixed-up people doing, for the most part, not quite their level best. They muddle. Fortunately the film does not. |
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.40)
15 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.