rating:
(out of
4 stars)Australia, Germany; 2001
Directed by Ray Lawrence; produced by Jan Chapman; screenplay Andrew Bovell
Starring Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Blake, Kerry Armstrong, Jon Bennett, Barbara Hershey
'Short Cuts', the German 'Winterschläfer', 'Magnolia', 'Love Actually', 'Crash'. All mosaic films, and somehow all worthy results, at least pleasing and often much more. 'Lantana' belongs to this group, and it belongs to the better examples. It uses the different intertwining stories to slowly unfold a mystery hidden between the human dramas. In its editing, in when it shows and especially stops showing certain characters and their situations, it is kind of brilliant.
The film opens with a body, lying in the bushes, and then stears away to pick up at some seemingly random lives. Thirty minutes later we would have forgotten the body if the camera wouldn't show us the kind of scenery it was hidden in. Characters are introduced and almost all women could turn out to be the dead body, and all others could have something to do with it. There is the detective (Anthony LaPaglia), his wife Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), his lover Jane (Rachael Blake), Sonja's psychiatrist (Barbara Hershey), her husband (Geoffrey Rush), one of her patients (Patrick Phelan), Jane's neighbours (Danielle Farinacci & Vince Colosimo), etc.
The editing reminds the viewer of the mystery. Dialogue is cut off when important questions are about to be answered, little details around a character, actions or situations, are revelead from the point of view of another, and is therefore open for interpretation. In this way 'Lantana' almost seems a "whodunit", even before the "who-is-it" is clear. The real core though, lies in the drama. All these characters have issues with at least on other, sometimes with themselves or their past. Their single stories could fill films, and they have, but here we are treated with all of them at once. It's fascinating how complete they feel, even though there is not that much time for every episode.
'Lantana' with its powerful performances and strong direction grabs you and won't let go until the final credits roll. Some will say it ends on the wrong note and director Ray Lawrence has done some cheating, but perhaps a closer look is needed. The big mystery may seem the center of the film, but it is the little mysteries, the secrets within marriages and friendships, that brings all these storylines together.