Review of Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) by Angie M — 21 Dec 2008

Beautifully haunting. Beneath the sinister mystery that entangles the plot, the movie creates a stunning gothic atmosphere, complete with the characters' repressed sexuality and overbearing class divisions.

Acting was top class and made your usual stereotypical caricatures (the strict Principal, the frou frou Lumley, the math teacher with the "masculine intellect") extremely delightful to watch.

Anne-Louise Lambert and Margaret Nelson were perfectly chosen to portray the two main girls - one with an aura of attractive mystery and the other shrouded in tragedy. Photography truly gave the feeling of something unnatural in the rocks, with its towering heights, claustrophobically close surfaces and sharp edges.