After The Deluge
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: D Film: B-
Some tales of family trails, tribulations, secrets and
pain are just bad melodramas, then sometimes they are done with more
intelligence and complexity than usual.
After The Deluge (2003) is an Australian film that leans towards
the latter and offers a fine cast in a series of interconnected, believable
stories.
There is Alex (David Wenham), who suddenly is told by his
wife that they’re marriage is a failure out of nowhere, while he has been too
bogged down with work and other family matters. She’s been having an affair for a long time and he was oblivious
to this too. Then there is Marty (Hugo
Weaving), a one-time Rock band singer/songwriter in a dry spell, having to deal
with new “talent’ that does not have any and badly wanting to get back to the
music he loves, but his drinking and drugs robbed him of all that. He becomes interested in diner owner Annie
(Rachel Griffiths), but will this work out?
Then there is Cliff (Ray Barrett), now an old man haunted by his past
and physically surviving, but very mentally distant, over fifty years after his
World War II ordeals. He keeps reliving
the past, too vividly for his own good, reliving (as played by Aden Young) the
lost of best friends and missing out on a love he never got over. And that’s just the beginning.
Kudos to Andrew Knight for putting together an adult,
intelligent script, which challenges the actors as is just builds and builds
the story without oversectionalizing it.
Director Brendan Maher could be the next key director out from Down
Under and he has good instincts about the material. My only complaint about the film is some predictability and an
ending that ends the film far too soon, leaving some of the issues worth bringing
up not finished with. Otherwise, this
is ambitious and should be seen by more people.
The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 image is sadly not anamorphically
enhanced, but is form a clean source, as shot by Director of Photography Geoff
Burton, A.C.S. and is not the most colorful work. However, the look is effectively serious without becoming a spoof
of itself. Some may have trouble with
no visual split between the interior mental fantasies of Barrett’s character
and real life, but the work in competent.
There is no theatrical sound listing in the credits, but this many have
had limited screenings, and is presented here in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with
very few Pro Logic surrounds. The score
by Cezary Skubiszewski is not bad either.
The only extra is brief filmography information on four of the lead
actors, but After The Deluge is definitely worth a look and shows the
kind of talent still alive and well in Australia.
- Nicholas Sheffo
