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Actors: Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael blake
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Lantana |
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This is an excellent 2001 Australian movie, a measured thriller for grownups that centers around four couples whose lives overlap -- sometimes profoundly, sometimes briefly and unknown to them but with severe consequences. Leon Zat (LaPaglia) is a hardened police detective estranged from his lovely wife Sonja (Armstrong) and sons. Dr. Valerie Somers (Hershey), a psychiatrist, and her husband, Professor John Knox are cool and restrained in the wake of their daughter's murder, about which Somers has just published a grief-memoir. Jane O'May (Blake) is separated from her husband, and lives next door to the young, loving, but poor couple Paula and Nik. Although nearly all these characters cross paths, the crucial encounters are these: Leon has a fiery but loveless affair with Jane, Valerie fears her husband is having a homosexual affair, Sonja is secretly getting counseling from Valerie. When Dr. Somers disappears one late and rainy night, various lies and secrets surface, cross, get confused -- and Nik is brought in as a suspect in Valerie's disappearance. Leon's affair with Jane collides with both his home life and work. Well plotted, strongly acted (especially by LaPaglia and Blake), and interestingly photographed and paced. Andrew Bovell wrote the screenplay based on his play "Speaking in Tongues" and Ray Lawrence directed.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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LANTANA is a movie directed in 2001 by australian director Ray Lawrence. The picture won seven major awards of the Australian Film institute.
LANTANA is a film in the old Robert Altman manner. Several people lives are affected when Barbara Hershey, a psychiatrist, disappears one night. In charge of the case, Anthony LaPaglia is a 40 years old cop who's just begun to cheat on his wife Kerry Armstrong. He discovers, after having stolen a cassette in Hershey's office, that his wife was consulting the missing doctor and that she's also suffering from their agonizing couple relation. When his mistress becomes a key witness in the case, LaPaglia begins to lose his nerves. When the case is solved, he will have decided what to do with his life.
A terrific drama about love, midlife crises and relationships between men and women that will haunt you for days. One of the best movies of 2001.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Lantana |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- romance (general)
- love triangle/polygon
- inconveniently married while playing footsy
- rekindling lost love/marriage
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- midlife crisis
- learns to be more sensitive
Taboo Sex Story?
Yes
Battle with shrink/bum?
- battle with a psychiatrist
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) fat
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Australian
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- red
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) ample bosom & buttocks
How much in movie?
- 20%
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Australian
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- Australia
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- actual description of sex
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Subtitles?
- No
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of dancing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
Is this movie based on a
- play
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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