Love triangles and secrets collide in this story of a sibling rivalry
(M) 111 minutes
Kangaroo Island is about sibling rivalry. It's the kind of story that pops up regularly on the streaming services but director Timothy David and screenwriter Sally Gifford have given it extra oomph by setting it against the seductively scenic backdrop of South Australia's Kangaroo Island.
David, a South Australian, had spent more than a decade in New York, pursuing a highly successful and innovative career in advertising, when he and Gifford, his wife, decided to buy a holiday house on the island and both, it seems, have been in love with the place ever since. You could call the film a romance, but the love object is the island itself.
When we first meet Lou (Rebecca Breeds) she has been trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles but things are not going well mainly because of her propensity for getting drunk and missing auditions. She has an excuse – more of that later – but in these introductory scenes, she rattles around being irritating.
Her agent dumps her and she has just tried to lie her way out of a speeding fine when a cluster of misadventures cause her to take advantage of the airline ticket to Australia bought for her by her father. He still lives on Kangaroo Island, where she grew up, but she hasn't been back in years.
The scenario which unfolds serves up its revelations in a pacy style with a series of flashbacks to her teenage years. We learn that she was a precociously accomplished flirt who had no difficulty winning Ben Roberts (Joel Jackson), the best-looking boy in town, although her more introverted sister, Freya (Adelaide Clemens), also fancied him.
After the affair struck trouble, Lou left for LA. And in her absence, Freya and Ben got married. As a result, the reunion between the sisters is decidedly uneasy, further complicated by the feelings that Lou and Ben still have for one another.
It's a standard love triangle with a few surprises along the way, but there's an engaging air of spontaneity in the performances. Breeds is a graduate of Home and Away and the rest of the cast are also television veterans. It's another reminder of the effectiveness of long-running Australian TV series as actors' training grounds.
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Love triangles and secrets collide in this story of a sibling rivalry
KANGAROO ISLAND ★★★½ (M) 111 minutes Kangaroo Island is about sibling rivalry. It's the kind of story that pops up regularly on the streaming services but director Timothy David and screenwriter Sally Gifford have given it extra oomph by setting it against the seductively scenic backdrop of South Australia's Kangaroo Island. David, a South Australian, had spent more than a decade in New York, pursuing a highly successful and innovative career in advertising, when he and Gifford, his wife, decided to buy a holiday house on the island and both, it seems, have been in love with the place ever since. You could call the film a romance, but the love object is the island itself. When we first meet Lou (Rebecca Breeds) she has been trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles but things are not going well mainly because of her propensity for getting drunk and missing auditions. She has an excuse – more of that later – but in these introductory scenes, she rattles around being irritating. Her agent dumps her and she has just tried to lie her way out of a speeding fine when a cluster of misadventures cause her to take advantage of the airline ticket to Australia bought for her by her father. He still lives on Kangaroo Island, where she grew up, but she hasn't been back in years. The scenario which unfolds serves up its revelations in a pacy style with a series of flashbacks to her teenage years. We learn that she was a precociously accomplished flirt who had no difficulty winning Ben Roberts (Joel Jackson), the best-looking boy in town, although her more introverted sister, Freya (Adelaide Clemens), also fancied him. After the affair struck trouble, Lou left for LA. And in her absence, Freya and Ben got married. As a result, the reunion between the sisters is decidedly uneasy, further complicated by the feelings that Lou and Ben still have for one another. It's a standard love triangle with a few surprises along the way, but there's an engaging air of spontaneity in the performances. Breeds is a graduate of Home and Away and the rest of the cast are also television veterans. It's another reminder of the effectiveness of long-running Australian TV series as actors' training grounds.
The Age
6 hours ago
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Love triangles and secrets collide in this story of a sibling rivalry
KANGAROO ISLAND ★★★½ (M) 111 minutes Kangaroo Island is about sibling rivalry. It's the kind of story that pops up regularly on the streaming services but director Timothy David and screenwriter Sally Gifford have given it extra oomph by setting it against the seductively scenic backdrop of South Australia's Kangaroo Island. David, a South Australian, had spent more than a decade in New York, pursuing a highly successful and innovative career in advertising, when he and Gifford, his wife, decided to buy a holiday house on the island and both, it seems, have been in love with the place ever since. You could call the film a romance, but the love object is the island itself. When we first meet Lou (Rebecca Breeds) she has been trying to make it as an actress in Los Angeles but things are not going well mainly because of her propensity for getting drunk and missing auditions. She has an excuse – more of that later – but in these introductory scenes, she rattles around being irritating. Her agent dumps her and she has just tried to lie her way out of a speeding fine when a cluster of misadventures cause her to take advantage of the airline ticket to Australia bought for her by her father. He still lives on Kangaroo Island, where she grew up, but she hasn't been back in years. The scenario which unfolds serves up its revelations in a pacy style with a series of flashbacks to her teenage years. We learn that she was a precociously accomplished flirt who had no difficulty winning Ben Roberts (Joel Jackson), the best-looking boy in town, although her more introverted sister, Freya (Adelaide Clemens), also fancied him. After the affair struck trouble, Lou left for LA. And in her absence, Freya and Ben got married. As a result, the reunion between the sisters is decidedly uneasy, further complicated by the feelings that Lou and Ben still have for one another. It's a standard love triangle with a few surprises along the way, but there's an engaging air of spontaneity in the performances. Breeds is a graduate of Home and Away and the rest of the cast are also television veterans. It's another reminder of the effectiveness of long-running Australian TV series as actors' training grounds.
