A couple of good young actors, a nicely-photographed and reasonably original setting, and the usual soupcon of taxpayers' folding stuff aren't enough to make this one work. The plot, at least, is not predictable, as it goes nowhere in particular - nowhere that I was much interested in going, anyway.
The main characters are Heidi, a dysfunctional adolescent with the IQ of a potplant and rather limited sexual discrimination, and her love interest (if that's not too strong a word) Joe, a well-off farmer's son handicapped by that scourge of the Anglo-Saxon male, a distressing inability to articulate his feelings. He is, however, dark, good-looking and, so far as such things can be judged by another Anglo-Saxon male, sensitive.
Can Joe be saved from in articulation by a good woman? (Are there any in sight?) Can Heidi be saved from her self-destructive behaviour patterns? (Is there a therapist in the house?)
Do we care?
There are other characters, of course. Joe has a boofhead mate (seemingly no smarter than Heidi, an achievement of sorts) who hangs around with other boofheads and their bitchy girlfriends. There's also an Aboriginal family (close-knit and good-hearted, and with a handicapped child to boot); a gay farmer (handsome, sensitive and intelligent); a tragic widow (with heart of gold); and a chorus of young males (drunken, uncouth and insensitive). But no stereotypes, of course. This is an Australian film, after all.
The main characters are Heidi, a dysfunctional adolescent with the IQ of a potplant and rather limited sexual discrimination, and her love interest (if that's not too strong a word) Joe, a well-off farmer's son handicapped by that scourge of the Anglo-Saxon male, a distressing inability to articulate his feelings. He is, however, dark, good-looking and, so far as such things can be judged by another Anglo-Saxon male, sensitive.
Can Joe be saved from in articulation by a good woman? (Are there any in sight?) Can Heidi be saved from her self-destructive behaviour patterns? (Is there a therapist in the house?)
Do we care?
There are other characters, of course. Joe has a boofhead mate (seemingly no smarter than Heidi, an achievement of sorts) who hangs around with other boofheads and their bitchy girlfriends. There's also an Aboriginal family (close-knit and good-hearted, and with a handicapped child to boot); a gay farmer (handsome, sensitive and intelligent); a tragic widow (with heart of gold); and a chorus of young males (drunken, uncouth and insensitive). But no stereotypes, of course. This is an Australian film, after all.