'Australia' (Baz Luhrmann, 2008)

Eight times. I found myself crying approximately eight times throughout Baz Luhrmann's latest visual experience, 'Australia'. I mean good God! I rarely cry in movies, at least publicly that is. Suffice to say, I became so emotional at various points in this film that I could have filled up your nearest swimming pool with tears.

But that's besides the point. The film: call me mesmerized. Absolutely gorgeous, not that that was a surprise to you. What else does one expect from a Luhrmann picture anyhow? Nothing short of a spectacular, spectacular in my case and he and his disgustingly talented crew deliver ten fold. Coming off of her lethal performance in 'Margot at the Wedding,' Nicole Kidman shines once again in a role that more often than not feels like that of Satine from 'Moulin Rouge!'. Or maybe it was just the similar accent? Who knows. Her transformation from "thoroughbred" English aristocrat to cattle driving billabong dweller extraordinaire is both charmingly humorous and endearing. She and co-star Hugh Jackman (as rough and tumble gorgeous as ever) command the screen with presences that grab their audience's attention by the reins and keep on riding with them until the last minute of the film's almost three hour running time. Their chemistry is so perfect it almost shocks me--the two look even better together than when Kidman was paired with Ewan McGregor for 'Rouge!'. Jackman specifically impressed me with his ability to blend the "down under" masculinity with intensely humane emotion.


Brandon Walters as well gives a wonderful supporting performance as Nullah the aborigine child that lives on Faraway Downs, the land in which Kidman's character Lady Sarah Ashley owns. He is the type of child actor who can take even the cheesiest dialogue and turn it into emotional fireworks. David Wenham does a suitable job as the token bad guy of the picture, Fletcher, but I feel his character's ultimate lack of back story development places a flaw on any kudos I would have been willing to give him.


The script, to my delight, alternates between moments of uproarious laughter to somber tragedy. It's an unabashed throw back to the Golden Age of 1930's cinema, striving to be "the next 'Gone with the Wind'", and honestly I would say that it's not too far from that--at least in grandeur, that is. Luhrmann's work doesn't reach Victor Fleming-level heights exactly, but it certainly shatters the roof for entertainment in this 21st century. The only problem I really had with the film is that, you know, it's two pieces. It ends and then begins all over again, and because of that it can be moderately exhausting. But it's no enormous bother for it, above many things, is just a beautiful love note to all things classic film and I adore it for that. 'Australia' is an indulgent, sumptuous, visual spectacle filled to the brim with breathtaking cinematography, costumes and art direction, and includes performances to savor from its stars and supporting players. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been if it had had an exclamation point tacked on the end of its title.

B+