Florida's Film, Television and the Arts Magazine
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is a jewel of a film that comes to us from Australia. A major hit in its home country, the film has been making the rounds of festivals around the world for the past few years. Yes, that's how long it can sometimes take to get a small, independent film from an international market through the U.S. festival circuit. There's a LOT of competition and it's not cheap to enter your film into festivals. One of the few perks of my job is that I receive a multitude of unknown films to watch and potentially review. I'm thrilled I received Kangaroo Island, and I encourage you to put it on your radar.
Kangaroo Island is a family drama, with stellar acting from the entire ensemble. It stars Rebecca Breeds as Lou Wells, the older daughter of an Australian widower, Rory (Erik Thomson). You may know Breeds from her role as Clarice Starling or from Pretty Little Liars. I don't watch much tv, so she's a newcomer to me, and Breeds successfully knocks it out of the park in this film.
Lou is an minor starlet in Hollywood who has been struggling to break through for a number of years. When we meet her, Lou is experiencing what she says is 'the worst day of her life'. She's broke, out of work, and being evicted from the apartment she's been sharing with her ex-boyfriend. She's suddenly gifted a one-way ticket home to Australia from her dad. She absolutely has no intention of using that ticket, but then fate comes knocking, leaving her with no other option.
The things we learn about Lou and her family throughout the film, the sadness that Lou's been single-handedly carrying, reveal that what we are initially told as being the worst day of Lou's life happened way before we were introduced to her. Everyone in the film, from her sister Freya (Adelaide Clemens) to her brother-in-law Ben (Joel Jackson) are carrying many secrets, harboring years-long resentments which have the potential to explode the Wells family to bits and pieces.
It sounds like a soap opera. Yet thanks to a very light touch from Director Timothy David, and an honest and well-paced script with many twists, turns and reveals from writer Sally Gifford, Kangaroo Island never becomes trite, heavy or predictable. Plus, the exteriors are gorgeous, I mean, come on, it's Australia. The waves, the expanse, the 'roos.
Kangaroo Island is a film that flows around you without knocking you over. Like the ever-crashing waves around the island, which provide a character and voice all their own, there are deep troughs of regret and loss, followed by frothy comedic moments. It's definitely one you should 'save', and it's now available on these VOD platforms: Apple TV, Prime, Kinema, Fandango and YouTube.
