Lantana Rating: 5.5 out of 6
A movie quietly delving below the surface, there are no unnatural events to watch, no heroes or villans to choose, and no self importance. It quietly wanders through the story like an old man wandering through a suburb, never alluding, always simply watching.
Lantana is a story about several people, and gives many of them ample depth for you to grow to know. Unlike many movies where there is only the central storyline characters with empty characters around them to supply what's required, this movie instead gives all it's related characters a reality that is not bonded together, but genuinely sourced from one reality.
It involves love and loss, as well as nearly every emotion, and wanders through them humbly and truly, rarely actually explaining, never actually lecturing. Like a good storyteller who knows that it's not the emotions that need to be explained, whilst knowing they are one of the most important things in the story.
Usually I avoid talking about plot because most movies loose a good chunk of their pacing by giving away storyline. With Lantana, you could tell someone the whole plot and the damage would be slight. The storyline is excellent, with depth that appears understood by all involved, but never bragged about.
Initially, the characters seemed a little forced, the acting a little formulated, but this disappears. Also, there seems to be a few manufactured scenes to connect simply on principle rather than for any storytelling. However, these are mild criticisms.
A movie that doesn't walk away from honesty, and is undoubtably a success at what tries to achieve. |
