Somersault (2004)

I choose my movie-going on the basis of critical reviews: rarely am I let down. This was one of those occasions, for rarely have I sat through such an exercise in tedium.

Other viewers have outlined the paper thin story of a vacuous young lady who runs away from home after making a pass at her mother's boyfriend. But, although it has been described as "Australian incorrectness", I would suggest it is just the opposite: a feminist shot at supposed male shallowness, per medium of a few stereotypes. This is accompanied by the parallel proposition that the "masculine" types probably are closet gays.

Much has been made of the lyrical photography of the landscape around Jindabyne. The camera panning slowly through long lingering landscapes does indeed extend the movie considerably, but this is supposedly a drama, not a documentary. Let's have one or the other!

Well, that doesn't leave much. Somehow I lasted the distance, suffering from a mixture of irritation at the slightness of the story and tedium at the way it was presented. Profundity? Maybe we were given the long lingering (etc) so that we could meditate on why we were there: I know I did.

Avoid!

Fmovies: SOMERSAULT is a well handled treatment of a young 16 year old girl's journey through the discovery of her own sexuality and how to separate love from sex through creative encounters and experimentation. It is a very even handed portrayal staying clear of any moral or cultural judgments, with delicate if not provocative undertones and undergarments. Heidi who left under a misunderstanding when she quite innocently had an affair with her mother's live in boyfriend, heads to the symbolic wilds of New South Wales where she meets several of the movies characters all involved in their own emotional development or lack there of and are destined to repeat the nightly beer bashes and multiple empty (although enjoyable) sexual encounters where this critic felt an immediate connection with their strife. Heidi's life is rapidly becoming a slow alcohol induced, sexually propelled train wreck when finally the retarded aborigine boy sagely suggests that she simply should call her mom, who comes and picks her up and all is forgiven. The character of the gay farmer served no purpose to propel the story line and in my opinion was a cheap ploy to get most movie critics who are wired that way to come see the movie. Heidi's smirk reflected in the window of her mother's car at the end of the move serves as a perfect juxtaposition to her curious look at the opening scene while removing her surrogate stepfather's pants. A masterfully balanced film that I give a five star stretchability factor to. Don't walk but run to see this movie!!

See this film to see fine young actors doing good work.

See this film to see beautiful cinematography. The credits alone are worth a look.

Unfortunately, however, these are let down by a poorly constructed script, wooden dialog, and storytelling laden with clichés. These range from gratuitous scenes -- Heidi following Joe outside, naked; Joe's gay kiss... to characters telling each other things that we should be seeing -- "You don't know what you want!" or "You're afraid to get close to someone!"... to film school visual clichés -- Heidi under the bathwater, finally bursting up for air; Heidi wandering moodily through the landscape.

By the time we were treated for the seventh time to Heidi wandering moodily through the landscape, I was ready to burst out of the theatre, gasping for air.

Somersault fmovies. A couple of good young actors, a nicely-photographed and reasonably original setting, and the usual soupcon of taxpayers' folding stuff aren't enough to make this one work. The plot, at least, is not predictable, as it goes nowhere in particular - nowhere that I was much interested in going, anyway.

The main characters are Heidi, a dysfunctional adolescent with the IQ of a potplant and rather limited sexual discrimination, and her love interest (if that's not too strong a word) Joe, a well-off farmer's son handicapped by that scourge of the Anglo-Saxon male, a distressing inability to articulate his feelings. He is, however, dark, good-looking and, so far as such things can be judged by another Anglo-Saxon male, sensitive.

Can Joe be saved from in articulation by a good woman? (Are there any in sight?) Can Heidi be saved from her self-destructive behaviour patterns? (Is there a therapist in the house?)

Do we care?

There are other characters, of course. Joe has a boofhead mate (seemingly no smarter than Heidi, an achievement of sorts) who hangs around with other boofheads and their bitchy girlfriends. There's also an Aboriginal family (close-knit and good-hearted, and with a handicapped child to boot); a gay farmer (handsome, sensitive and intelligent); a tragic widow (with heart of gold); and a chorus of young males (drunken, uncouth and insensitive). But no stereotypes, of course. This is an Australian film, after all.

Beyond the aesthetically beautiful nature of this movie lies a story that is compelling in its realistic portrayal of young love and loneliness. The story moves along slowly, but I felt that this only added to the credibility of the plot, as most life situations aren't jam-packed with intense drama. The characters are flawed and complex - the main character Heidi is at once naive and youthful, and grown-up and savvy. The story details are slowly inserted, sometimes just through imagery - leaving the viewer to assume much of the back story - the movie does not feel contrived because you aren't being told every small detail and how the director wants you to judge each character. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys artistic camera angles, realistic characters and situations, and doesn't mind slowing down to enjoy a good story.

I must confess some bias, being a massive fan of the Snowy area :) This film I can see not appealing to those who have never been to the Cooma/Jindabyne area of NSW. They will have no point of reference. For those who have however, this film is simply brilliant. I have stayed at the motel Heidi stayed at. I have visited friends with houses like Joes. The mood/feeling of Heidi around the edges of Lake Jindabyne are uncanny. There is a feeling down there I have not had anywhere else in Australia. A barren, cold feeling that is at once breathtaking and heartbreaking.

Objectively, one could indeed see this movie being light on concerning the plot. In my mind and experiences though, I have never been so engrossed. Heidi and Joes relationship is so tantalising. So possible. It might seem to some as not realistic, but it really is. This is how many, many Australians express themselves ( on a good day! ) It is pure, and wonderful, and simply amazing and I don't care that this may have been the only film close to warranting attention in 2004. It is regardless completely brilliant, and I for one will be holding it close to my heart for a long long time to come.

Australian cinema very rarely gets this close to actual emotion, and this film hits it again and again. Some of it may be contrived or stereotypical, but overall it really is a gem hidden amongst 21st century Australian cinema pap. Enjoy it please :)