Baz Getting Buzzed
Australia (2008)
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, David Gulpilil, Bryan Brown, Essie Davis and Brandon Walters
Some people get drunk on fame, some on power, some on the usual stuff. Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann, gets drunk on storytelling. It's been fully obvious in each Bazmark production. Some filmmakers start slow, giving you time to settle in, as they describe the world, introduce the characters and set up the plot. Baz Luhrmann starts big and usually well past the first story beats. He's already buzzing. He expects you to catch up. Consider the anticipatory glee projected in the very first frames of the "red curtain trilogy" (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!). The mere act of opening the curtains seems to thrill the filmmakers. The red curtains are gone for his fourth film, the massive epic Australia, but the storyteller (if not the story) remain the same.Would you like to hear a story?
-Lady Ashley to a crying childThe film's first few absolutely gorgeous minutes suggest that we'll be seeing a child's adventure film. Our guide is Nullah (Brandon Walters), a "creamy" (half aboriginal, half white) who is walking with his grandfather, King George (David Gulpilil) when they chance upon a murder. Jumping forward in time, with Nullah still guiding us, we see him hiding at a cattle ranch called "Far Away Downs." Nullah, in voice over, introduces us to The Drover (Hugh Jackman) and Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) but Baz, behind the camera, only offers us tantalizing glimpses since Nullah peers at them between wooden slats. Nullah then informs us that we've missed the beginning of the story. True to Baz's form this prologue is not actually the beginning. We're whisked briefly to England for a fuller introduction to Sarah. One must have an explanation as to why she is whisked off to...
[cue titles] AUSTRALIA
Moviegoers who respond well to oversized theatrics, visual style and breathless promises of great stories to come will already be in love with the movie, five minutes in. I know because I do and I was.Curiously, though, the set up --Act 1 if you will-- turns into a rather long haul. Plot points are hurled at the viewer: Sarah's husband owns cattle, there's a beef shortage, there's an escalating war, there are shady employees at Sarah's ranch, there are politics both minor (cattle companies) and major (Australia's "Stolen Generations"). Within this maelstorm of plot points, every character is introduced. I'm exhausted just recalling it and I've left out spoilers and all details. Perhaps conscious of the potential boredom inherent in a lengthy and intricate plot setup serving as an entire act, Baz opts for a full throttle and high wire blend of dramatic exposition and heightened comedy. While not as frenetically edited as Moulin Rouge!'s infamous first 20 or so minutes, it might have the same audience sifting effect. To be generous: it doesn't always work.
Hugh Jackman's introduction, all roguish charm and roughhouse ready individualism, is great fun. His character "the Drover" is a natural fit for the strange blend of war/ western / business / adventure / epic/ romance / family / political / dramedy that Baz has dreamed up for the movie. Unfortunately Nicole Kidman doesn't fare as well. The stunningly beautiful costumes (by Catherine Martin, Baz's creative partner and wife) have smartly indicated Sarah's modesty, her stubborn fussiness and the actress is forced to further hammer this point home. To be fair, Sarah is meant to be a fish out of water -- she doesn't quite fit into the rugged beauty of this unfamiliar country but Kidman's shrill choices are off putting. There's a lot of screeching and arm flailing. Other than one endearingly performed scene in which she is asked to sing, she seems lost in the bizarre comedic demands placed on her. Once the comedy begins to fall away leaving romance and drama in its wake, things improve for the actress considerably.
Once the lengthy plot setup has wrapped and the cattle drive has begun (Act 2!) the film begins to soar again, restored to the magic of its prologue. The cattle drive, a deadly adventure which kindles the romance of our hero & heroine and bonds them to Nullah is by far the film's strongest act. Everything the movie is hoping to be seems to come together, crystallizing the filmmaker's strengths. It's epic; the cattle drive is an eye popping spectacle, immediately reconfirming Baz's reputation as a great showman. It's magical; Nullah has a show-stopping moment that ties in to Australia's fascination with the mysteries of the aboriginal people. It's hugely romantic; the slow burn of Sarah and the Drover gives Baz yet another go at iconizing gorgeous stars as they fall in cinematic love. Jackman, and particularly Kidman, are breathtaking once they're sun burnt and exhausted, all defenses down.
This is a tough act to follow... literally.
For all its ups and downs I suspect that Australia will have some rabid fans. If you've been hankering for a truly gargantuan movie, it might be just your ticket. Others will be perplexed at the filmmaker's predilection for rapid tonal shifting and his tendency to view every single moment as a big one. Those artistic tendencies worked superbly with the collage-like post-modern demands of Moulin Rouge! but broad comedy, sweeping romance and tragedy make for less agreeable companions here. One begins to wonder if the presumptuous title didn't weigh heavily on the ambitiously talented filmmaker, inspiring a certain amount of willful "This must have everything!" overload. It's not always clear which story he really wanted to tell. But maybe he's so drunk on the telling that he really did want to tell them all.
In the interest of preserving the unfolding of a complicated plot for the movie theater where it belongs, I'd rather not discuss details of Acts Three (Romance! Politics!) and Four (More of Everything! Plus War!) but let it suffice to say that Australia is a mixed bag of a movie. Some of it is great, some is mediocre. It soars, then it deflates, then it soars. Repeat. Ah, but perhaps I'm leaning on the wrong metaphor entirely. Australia isn't a bag. It's more like an impossibly huge herd of cattle. Baz Luhrmann is a skilled Drover but when millions of those dumb beasts come together they become really difficult to steer.
B
discuss on blog
related articles on Hugh Jackman
related articles on Nicole Kidman
related articles on Australia
related articles on Baz Luhrmann
