During my last driving holiday, my wife and I listened to the Nick Earls book and thoroughly enjoyed it... I was expecting to be disappointed by the movie (having read the book) but walked out delighted. I caught one of the preview days and only a small audience was in the cinema, yet all of them (and I) reacted to the highs and lows of the protagonists' situation.
The awkward moments, the butterflies in the stomach, the near liaisons all resonated with me and propelled me back to my final year at school, and my experiences of share housing at university..
The casting was, in my opinion, true to my impressions of the characters in the book, and in this case I got the feeling that anyone else cast in the roles would have been "wrong", such was my comfort with the actors and characters portrayed.
The screenplay certainly did the book justice as I felt that all of the key points were hit. There is a certain bit of "wankery" (wankery = self gratifying actions) with some of the shots early on in the film and they seemed to be trying to make a point. What point, I am unsure of, but the constantly panning, zooming, piecemeal shots made caused some nauseousness. Happily, after about 15 minutes or so these ceased (or I got used to the style) and we got into the story.
Such a brilliant look into the back yard of Australian life and "almost got there" liaisons should not be missed, not because it is a "not to be missed movie", rather, it should not be missed to allow the viewer to get back in touch with those days of their youth.
The awkward moments, the butterflies in the stomach, the near liaisons all resonated with me and propelled me back to my final year at school, and my experiences of share housing at university..
The casting was, in my opinion, true to my impressions of the characters in the book, and in this case I got the feeling that anyone else cast in the roles would have been "wrong", such was my comfort with the actors and characters portrayed.
The screenplay certainly did the book justice as I felt that all of the key points were hit. There is a certain bit of "wankery" (wankery = self gratifying actions) with some of the shots early on in the film and they seemed to be trying to make a point. What point, I am unsure of, but the constantly panning, zooming, piecemeal shots made caused some nauseousness. Happily, after about 15 minutes or so these ceased (or I got used to the style) and we got into the story.
Such a brilliant look into the back yard of Australian life and "almost got there" liaisons should not be missed, not because it is a "not to be missed movie", rather, it should not be missed to allow the viewer to get back in touch with those days of their youth.