Review of Lantana (2001) by Ingela A — 01 Nov 2012
Lantana is a fine film thanks to the sure direction of Ray Lawrence and the fine script by Andrew Bovell. This was certainly a nice surprise coming from Australia, which has given us a great many interesting films.
Set in Australia, a colorful pallet of characters paints a vivid, coherent psychological portrait of infidelity, deceit, and estrangement. At the center of the film is four couples, immersed in guilt and depravity for different reasons. Everybody has something to hide. The conflicts of these people illuminate the personal crisis of a police detective (Anthony LaPaglia) as he investigates the disappearance of a local woman.
The cast is uniformly excellent although LaPaglia stands out because of his most demanding role. His performance is one of the best I have seen in recent years.
Lantana" is one of the most compelling, involving films I have seen. It's based on a play called "Speaking in Tongues" by Andrew Bovell, who also wrote the fluid screenplay. I want to see this play. If these characters feel so alive, so real, so tormented on screen, think of their power in person.
This review of Lantana (2001) was written by Ingela A on 01 Nov 2012.
Lantana has generally received very positive reviews.
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