Angry Boys

Well, it's over. Angry Boys, the latest project from Chris Lilley, is spent.

Was it just me or did this series go on for ages? I really wanted to love it and there were moments that I almost did. But really the title says it all. It was just a whole lot of angry people taking it out on others. I didn't identify with any of the characters and the plotting was so plodding that if you missed an episode or two it didn't matter.

Gran was far and away the most compelling character. Her quiet contemplation as she reflected on moving to a new stage of life were a welcome relief in a barrage of horribleness from most of the other characters.

Overall the irony was laid on too thick.

It was strange though, after not enjoying the series, when it all pulled together at the end I was moved. It was predictable that they all turn up for the party but when it actually happened I was genuinely stoked for Nathan. I guess it proves that you can stuff up everything else but if you get the ending right you can just about pull it off. The power of story.

So what's next in Australian TV? Crownies maybe?

Moon

Okay, so it’s a couple of years old but I just managed to get my hands on a dvd copy of Moon, written and directed by first timer Duncan Jones. http://www.facebook.com/moon

If you like your sci-fi cerebral, your characters complex and your cinematography crispy clean, Moon can deliver. Sam Rockwell does a great job in the lead and Kevin Spacey is perfect as the voice of the moon-station computer (very reminiscent of Hal 9000 in 2001 A Space Odyssey).

From a story-telling perspective Moon is a great study in character. As the film progresses you find yourself identifying with one character more than another even though, on the face of it, you should feel the same about both of them. The characters are similar in most respects and find themselves at the mercy of the same circumstances. But character is action and as they each react differently to what’s going on around them you have subtly different reactions to them.

Well worth checking out.

Oranges and Sunshine

A beautiful, evocative photo that, unfortunately, remains two dimensional.

There is much to recommend this new Australian/UK co-production. The performances are great, the cinematography stunning and the subject matter deeply emotional. There are some wonderful moments of both warmth and revelation. But ultimately the story doesn't take me anywhere.

Margaret, played pitch perfect by Emily Watson, is an English social worker who discovers that children were deported from Britain to Australia, without their families' knowledge, throughout the 20th Century. Her life is absorbed by the quest to reunite families, bring closure to the victims and hold governments to account. You don't find out much more about the emigration scheme, or Margaret and her family. Margaret's mission takes a heavy toll on her family but this is never resolved. The characters of the people that Margaret helps are sketched but not filled out and their stories are only told in service to Margaret story.

I wanted so much more from this film. I wanted to love it, but it only moved me as a snapshot would. It only gave me a hint of what happened to Margaret, her family and the victims of the scheme. It was a first feature from writer director Jim Loach and I look forward to another. I hope his next one satisfies.