South Solitary
Cinema Nova, 17/08/2010
Status: Behind by 9 (and a bit) films
Full disclosure of prejudice: I am a sucker for a period romantic drama. It’s my weakness, my kryptonite. So when the lights went down and MIRANDA OTTO (Lord of the Rings, Love Serenade) was wearing a gorgeous green felt hat and being punted to the shore of a remote Tasmanian island from a steamer ship, I got a little bit excited. When she landed on the island and was shot a sideways glance by the outrageously good-looking MARTON CSOKAS (Romulus, My Father, Aeon Flux, Lord of the Rings), I settled into my seat happily and smugly – I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen: either drama, tragedy and romance; or drama, romance and tragedy.
I didn’t count on writer-director SHIRLEY BARRETT (Love Serenade), though. Although South Solitary is most definitely a period romance, it is …unexpected. Although the plotting was fairly conventional – the island’s population of 8 dwindles to just our two would-be lovers and a storm throws them into the kind of proximity for the sparks to fly - the treatment is unusual in that it is so restrained. There’s no falling about in each other’s arms, and no lightening bolts of realisation and love. And I really liked it.
I did feel gypped by the ending, though, as I still wanted and expected the conventional pay-off but didn’t get it. Grudgingly, though, I have to say that Barrett’s film – unconventional and strangely unsatisfying as it is – is also very, very well made. It’s not the period romance I was expecting. And that’s both a good and a bad thing.
Also, look what my friend Nick the Astrophysicsist* found: "It's just as I suspected. Your movie watching since the 20th week is very well fit by a second order polynomial. If we extrapolate this forward, I think I can confidently predict that by the end of the year you will have seen 283 films. I would include error bars, but you know, errors are for wimps."
So there you go. 283 films. That's not at all daunting, no!
*I know that's not how you spell astrophysicist, I'm being charming.
