A review of the movie 'Australia'

Firstly I must warn you that if you are a highbrow film buff looking for a film with depth 'Australia' is not the film for you. It is not in the least bit intellectual, is possibly somewhat predictable and is certainly not high art. In fact it can take some bearing with until you find yourself sucked into the rather naive, Mills & Boon-style story of a romance between a stuck-up English lady and a bit of rough from the Australian outback.

This is not so much the fault of the story as the unusual acting capabilities, or lack thereof, of the pulchritudinous and impossibly slender Ms Kidman. Her portrayal of an autocratic but spirited lady from the British aristocracy put me in mind of my granddaughters playing the same role, all nose in the air, petulant stamping and swishing of riding crops.

It was all sadly juvenile but thankfully this improved as the film progressed ... unless I just got used to it and idle curiosity about the storyline distracted my awareness away from the quality of the acting.

'Australia' is not all it seems on the surface. Whilst basically it is the usual drover meets English snob love story with a few obligatory baddies thrown in, it still strives for a gravitas it doesn't quite pull off.

The film has pretensions towards social comment by introducing an aboriginal element, specifically a captivating native boy, to highlight the story of the 'stolen children' as they are now called. Briefly this was the enforced removal of half-caste, and even full-blood, Aboriginal children from their parents between 1869 and 1969 (and possibly even into the 1970's) to be placed in care, usually with 'Christian' establishments.

This was done under a legal Act and for a variety of reasons but all, ostensibly, for the good of the child. Frequently, feeling that the culture of care given by their Aboriginal parents was lacking, the well meaning worthies of the time were implacable in the removal of these children, despite the overwhelming distress this high-handed attitude caused the parents and children.

Once they grew to maturity these 'now civilised' children were deemed fit to become servants to the whites who had so kindly taken them in. It is no mistake that many Australian Prime Ministers have apologised for the actions of their forebears since this hideously misguided Act was repealed.

So what is the plot of Australia?

Set around the early years of the Second World War the story opens as a hoity-toity English aristocratic lady (Ms Kidman) heads to Australia to give her perceived errant English aristocratic husband, who is in the unlikely position of running a cattle ranch in the Outback, a piece of her mind.

It would appear to be a piece she can ill-afford to spare but she is a headstrong miss, and apparently she rides rather well. On arrival in Australia, and towing a shed-load of what we can all see is totally unnecessary baggage with her, she finds her poor hubby has been murdered. On the face to it the murderer seems to be the local Aborigine medicine man and one hopes, in this enlightened age of political correctness, that he is innocent.

Having already made the acquaintance of the local brawler cum Aborigine lover, the meltingly adorable Mr Jackman, the lady promptly hires him to help her drive her dead husband's cattle to Darwin to sell them to the army to feed the troops. There is a war on, soldiers need feeding and there is the inevitable deadline to meet.

Various hangers-on, namely an alcoholic accountant, (don't ask) and the enchanting native boy-child, who is busily hiding from the authorities who want to put him into Christian care, are also enlisted for this cattle drive. It turns out to be a very eventful journey as they race to get the cattle to the port on time despite skulduggery, stampede and romantic entanglement.

It would be wrong of me to give any more of the plot away for those hopeless romantics who want to see the movie, so it will suffice to say that the main thread of the story is about the growing attraction between the principal characters with all the pitfalls brought on by the qualities of wilfulness and independence and in the case of Mr Jackman, commitment phobia.

Throw in the heart-rending struggle of a cute child attempting to avoid the would-be do-gooders, a powerful enemy in the shape of a ruthless cattle baron and his desperately amoral lieutenant and the Japanese air attack on Darwin for good measure and you've got the whole gamut.

Should you see this film?

If it's a wet day, if you don't have a drain to clean out, if you feel like a bit of escapism, sure, go ahead. It'll entertain you once you get past Ms Kidman's acting, and a bit of romance, however predictable, is always good for our cynical souls.

Okay, so there is little explicit sex or gory violence and the few explosions there are are sanitised but that just goes to show that this movie may be predictable ... but it isn't that predictable!