Australia (2008)

Lady Sara Ashley (Nicole Kidman) leaves England and travels to the dusty Australian Outback to take hold of the dream her deceased husband once had. She arrives to find a sprawling ranch that has seen better days. When threated by a local land baron and competior, Ashley makes a reluctant pact with Drover (Hugh Jackman), a roughshod cattle rustler to drive a head of cattle through unforgiving territory. Add Nullah (Brandon Walters), a 'magical' child of mixed race (white father/Aboriginal mother) who steals the heart of Lady Ashley, the Japanese bombing of Dawin's harbor at the turn of WWII and you have a film of grandiose proportions.

Australia is a melodramatic period epic that indulges writer/director Baz Luhrmann. He starts with good intentions, but ultimately becomes mired in his own imagination. The sweeping cinematography provides gorgeous renderings of the landscape and that is Australia's redeeming quality.

Kidman and Jackman are beautiful onscreen. They manage average chemistry, but neither own their performances well enough to make us care. David Wenham has a nice turn as a clichéd baddie.

The trials of this tenacious trio are predictable and never quite achieve Luhrmann's intentions--which I think is a romanticized historical drama. Australia suffers from a massive identity crisis. Is it an epic romance? Adventure? Or a piece to memorialize the disgraceful treatment of the Aboriginals? Instead of culling the nation's history, Lurhmann packs his film in an attempt to make it as interesting as the country and fails miserably. There's enough information here for a trilogy.

As it is, Australia plays out at two films. The first half focuses on Ashley and her, ahem, adjustment to the rugged state of affairs. The second half focuses on the war and how it effects Ashley's state of affairs. Neither part does right by it's actors.

Lurhmann gets two things right. The cinematography and production values are top-notch. He knows how to build a frame and set stunning images on fire. The score is a little too melodramatic to be of much good.

I loathe to say it, but as I see it, Australia is an epic cliché. It's not great; it's not bad. It's simply average.