Review of Australia (2008) by Dave A — 11 Feb 2012

I might be one of the few people to actually give Australia a perfect score, but I feel that it deserves it. It's such a sweeping, powerful movie, and while many a wannabe critic finds Australia unoriginal, over-the-top, and too archetypical with its characters, to that I say, "That's precisely the point!" Well, maybe those words put it badly, but Australia is SUPPOSED to be a sort of tribute to old-school movies, including Westerns and ESPECIALLY romance epics.

I just can't help but love the whole aesthetic feel of this movie; the orange-blue contrast effect is used to the extreme here, and it admittedly makes everything looks FANTASTIC. Granted, I realize visuals alone don't make a movie a classic, but that's where the characters come in.

Sure, they aren't deeply complex souls with tormented pasts that lead them to alcoholism and a gray outlook on life. But they do have interesting backstories, and their interactions with one another seem so natural and, often-times, fun.

Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are most likely to thank for that; they have great chemistry and they can do comedy, drama, and romance so well together. Even the young Brandon Walters (who plays the half-Aboriginal, half-white Nullah) does an admirable job in his role; he's able to pull off that precise "kid in a movie" balance, where he isn't overtly annoying but he also isn't devoid of childlike innocence and fun.

The story involves cattle droving, romance, amazing scenery, and, like Gone With the Wind, racial issues of the time and place. The latter makes Australia just complex enough to be mentally satisfying, but when it really comes down to it, the movie is fuel for the heart, the emotions.

It's a tribute to black and white epics of back in the day (black and white visually AND philosophically). It doesn't try to be something it isn't; it just is what it is. And what it is is a highly entertaining epic with fun, romance, awe, and drama to be had.