Breath (I) (2017) User Reviews (67)

A Breath of fresh air for the Australian film industry

[eddie_baggins · 8/10 · 6 May 2018]

It may take time to see how Breath is regarded in the list of all-time best Australian movies but regardless of how Simon Baker's debut feature as director ends up being regarded in due time, Breath is easily one of the most impressive local film's in year's and arguably one of the best film's yet made about the power and alluring nature of surfing.

Based on Tim Winton's novel of the same name, Breath centres around teenage mates Pikelet and Loonie (played impressively by newcomers Samson Coulter and Ben Spence) who in a small coastal town in Western Australia begin a love affair with the waves and a friendship with the older and married surf loving Sando that will shape the course of their lives.

Its a personable and relatable tale, one that is very close to Winton's heart as an avid surfer and a long time resident of Western Australia and Baker not only does a great job at mixing in teenage coming of age scenarios but perfectly captures the majestic and ominous beauty of the ocean.

Breath looks beautiful, captured thoughtfully by Baker and his DOP's Marden Dean and Rick Rifici, its one of the more visually captivating local film's to come our way in sometime and therefore justifys an added reason to capture this adaptation on the big screen outside of its nicely crafted character drama.

With Pikelet and Loonie we have two teenage boys we've likely all come across before in our time, Pikelet the quiet and introverted type and Loonie the more carefree and rashly thinking troublemaker and as these two unlikely commrades attach themsleves to the lives of the somewhat sad Sando and his troubled wife Eva (played by Elizabeth Debicki), Breath creates a real and lived in world where things are set in course for the shaping of these characters lives.

Final Say -

Breath is a methodically paced and baggage free coming of age drama that is anchored by a respect and capturing of Australia's relationship with the sea.

An experience long removed from the world of The Mentalist, Simon Baker has here marked himself down as a director of note with what will be one of the year's best Australian films.

4 lamb chops out of 5

Thought-provoking story, told well and beautifully shot

[newbroom · 8/10 · 3 May 2018]

I hadn't/haven't read the book. My ideas about the themes and the story come entirely from seeing this film. It was about boys/young men and the influences and pressures on them when they are attaining "manhood" and what that involves, learning to say "no" to outside pressures and to stand on your own two feet and to decide what is right for you. The 2 leads were not actors, but their performances are terrific. Very natural and believable. "Loony" delivered some funny lines perfectly and conveyed behaviours consistent with his nickname with reckless abandon, but there were reasons in his life that drove his behaviour. Neither his lines nor his conduct were really funny when you thought about it afterwards (and I did think about the themes afterwards which, to me, highlights that a movie was good) The other boy "Pikelet" was a more cautious, thoughtful type and launching himself onto waves wasn't something that came naturally to him, he had to overcome his fears to give it a go. The character showed by his face the conflict of wanting to conform against his natural personality, quite an achievement for an actor, but for a non-actor even more so. The performances by the 2 young leads no doubt is attributable to Simon Baker's direction and he did a great job showing what was "going on" with the characters under the surface.

Both boys meet Sando, Simon Baker's character and he teaches them about surfing and taking risks on the water, how waves behave and that sort of thing. By their interactions with Sando and his American wife, who is depressed and frustrated after an injury, the boys also learn more about life and people. The story spans several years as the boys "grow up". I'm not into surfing, but the surfing scenes were "just right" not a second too long or boring to me as a non-surfer, visually stunning and interesting to watch and advancing the story. This isn't "light-hearted" entertainment, but if you want to see a beautifully shot story about people and what "makes them tick" and the influences on young boys/men, go to see it.

Breathtaking!

[doctor_trish · 8/10 · 7 May 2018]

A coming of age novel, for years this book languished on my bookshelves in spite of the exhortations from my daughter to read it. In expectation of seeing the film, I read it over a weekend and was captivated although wasn't a fan of Tim Winton before I read "Breath". The film is faithful to the book apart from the sanitizing of auto-erotic asphyxiation. Spoiler alert so I won't say any more. The film is masterful: Simon Baker's direction and his performance as Sando is believable and superlative; the young men playing Pikelet and Loonie are superb; the cinematography is beyond belief. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Debicki lets the side down. Looking like a younger, blonde version of Cher, she is barely audible or intelligible. Nonetheless this is a stunning contribution to the Australian film industry's history. Four stars.

a beautiful looking coming of age film full of banalities

[CineMuseFilms · 6/10 · 17 May 2018]

Award-winning novels do not always lead to award-winning films. As we know, the novel's unbounded imaginative space reigns free while the movie is constrained within sight and sound. The coming-of-age film Breath (2017)is beautiful to look at, but its clichéd characters and banal dialogue make it a rather ordinary translation of Tim Winton's widely acclaimed book.

The story is framed as a middle-age nostalgic flashback to growing up in a logging village on the spectacular West Australian coastline. We follow through the eyes of a young teenager called Pikelet (Samson Coulter) who, with his aptly-named best friend Loonie (Ben Spence), are inducted into the surfing culture of the 1970s. Their dreams of conquering big waves are made real when they are befriended by a 40-something former top surfer and off-the-grid hippy called Sando (Simon Baker). He becomes their mentor, inspiring them with zen-like dogma about the mastery of one's inner fears and the purism of doing something as pointlessly elegant as riding a dangerously large wave. Meanwhile, Sando's surly girlfriend Eva (Elizabeth Debicki) limps around in the background with a chronic injury from top-tier competitive skiing. She is cool towards the teenagers until Sando and Loonie take off to Indonesia to chase even bigger waves, leaving young Pikelet to herself.

Sexual initiation is not always recalled through misty lens. Eva has dangerously weird taste in bed and no qualms about the boy's lack of maturity. While the camera spends a lot of time watching them together it is never close enough to earn an 18+ rating. Pikelet finds himself between two worlds: innocent school friends on one hand, and a worldly woman who uses him as a toy on the other. It is not so different to the space between mastering a wave for fun and chasing one to prove you are not scared.

The enduring high point of Breath is its cinematography. Lush rainforests, ruggedly rocky coastlines, and white-crested rollers are captured with almost lyrical beauty. The cameras spend a lot of time on top of and under the water, and some of the wave shots can make you gasp. However,the characters are one-dimensional, the dialogue often inauthentically mystical, and there is not a trace of narrative tension. Eva remains a shadowy person and her past sporting career is barely mentioned. Women's achievements don't count for much in a man's world, but the film labours at length but simplistically over what it takes to be a man. A particularly insipid example is early in the film the two teenagers get around on under-sized kid's BMX bicycles, but the day after Pikelet's sexual initiation he suddenly appears on a full-size bike. Really; is that all it takes?

If Breathhas serious messages about growing up with worthwhile values, they only hang in limbo, unformed and unexplored. No doubt there will be different responses from those who read the book, those who fondly remember the 1970s, and those for whom sex and surfing is still a pathway to adulthood. If it achieves anything, it highlights how much more complex growing up is today.

Beautiful Cinematography, but ultimately not that good

[amhunt-62478 · 6/10 · 8 May 2018]

Valiant first directing attempt by Baker. This is worth watching for the scenery of the South coast of Western Australia alone. The surf sequences are also very well put together, and really draw the viewer into the waves and the ocean.

That's about where my praise ends though. Frankly, the film never quite achieves the heights that some reviews claim. Unlike the presentation of the scenery and surfing, the characters are not well drawn out, and struggle to develop any telling depth. The boy coming of age, the crazy mate, the high school girlfriend, the stereotyped parents, the mentor. All of them are frequently used templates by the author (Winton), this feels like the same tale he's told before, just with different characters and setting.

Subtly brilliant.

[waldoc-46531 · 10/10 · 7 May 2018]

I read each new Tim Winton book as they come out. He's one of Australia's best writers and his work is certainly the most authentic Australiana. So, even though I've admired Simon Baker's work for many years, I worried that the film would be hard-pressed to match the quality of the written story. The anxiety was wasted; Breath the movie is a superb rendering of the book, managing to capture the moods, emotions, fears love and the allure of surfing in an understated and intimate way, even while omitting sections of the book, which was a complex 215 pages, and redirecting the thrust of the novel. At almost two hours, it's paced in a tempo that matches the period, the people and the lifestyle and flows past like the beautiful waves at Barney's. The young actors are brilliant but congratulations to all concerned because so is the film.

Nice, but no Lantana

[kempkenmore · 7/10 · 16 May 2018]

The book is well worth reading, but watch the film first. That way, you won't be too disappointed at what's been cut in the film version. I was surprised to see this film rated M in Australia as some sections of the book are 'R' for sure, and would make it hard to make the novel a set text for schools. The film leaves out the excellent opening chapter of the book (but understandably given the context) though it does capture Winton's brilliant descriptions of the sea and surfing: no Australian writer has done it better. The big problem for the film (which is also fairly true of the novel) is that there is no major problem or conflict shown as being confronted and/or resolved. Even in a 'coming of age' film, you would expect strong conflict with parents (they hardly say a word here), problems with girls (his gf just approaches him and later drops him: he shows almost no reaction), or issues arising from forming an intimate relationship with his mentor's woman (the mentor either doesn't know about it or seems cool with it!) The 'breath play' issue is important but because more explicit depiction would hurt the film's rating, it's been kept largely out of sight. If the big issue is meant to be the narrator confronting his own fears, it needed much more screen time, dialogue and acting. Maybe it was a question of budgets, but I came away just a little disappointed that I had not been taken on the emotional wave (get it?) I had been expecting. At the same time, it is great to see Australia on the big screen, so I'm glad I saw it, and I hope many others will too.

Tim Winton's depiction of the southwest is drawing me back

[stevendgcooper · 9/10 · 18 May 2018]

Loved it. Having grown up in Western Australia in the 70's I loved every bit of this movie. Every bit that I could relate to that is. The feeling of being dumped in the surf, the chopper style pushies with banana seats, the poppity clatter of an old Kombie motor, the sandy WA bush, slipping on the rocks, the feeling of going up and over a wave just before it breaks, the rush of catching a wave, dancing badly at the school social, suntanned young skin, holding a girls hand, getting up at dawn to go surfing.. and of course, holding my breath under water just that bit too long. Couldn't help but not relate to avocado's in WA in the 70's.. I don't ever remember them.. and I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to WA number plates.. the Kombi had black plates with white characters. The number format was right, even the first letter U was authentic, but sorry I don't ever recall black background with white letters.

Coming of age surf movie with a twist

[wrxsti54 · 6/10 · 30 January 2021]

Having spent time in Australia not long after the time period of this movie, when I was only a bit older than the two lead actors, I can appreciate the accuracy of the movie's portrayal of teenage life back then and the way things were in Australia. I love the authentic Aussie bluntness and a trip back to an age without PC fears and ubiquitous electronics. The surfing aspect of the movie is stunning - raw, real old school surfing before leashes and even wet suits were common as the boys begin with just shorts. The best thing about this movie are the two 14 year old surfie mates Pikelet (Samson Coulter) and Loonie (Ben Spence) who actor/director Simon Baker miraculously found. When filming a surfing movie with teenagers you have to decide between a known, experienced actor that can be taught how to surf (or you can insert doubles) or you find a genuine surfie who has never acted. Baker went the latter route and hit paydirt with these boys - they did some straight out stunning big surf scenes as the older hippie surfie mentor Sando (Baker) teaches them more advanced surfing skills and finds elusive big waves in the uniquely wild and beautiful Denmark region of the West Australian coastline. Coulter is tremendously sensitive and accomplished in what ends up being a difficult role and Spence is spot on as a dangerous thrill-seeking adrenaline junky teenager. These boys were authenticity on steroids and the gamble with no prior experience pays off.

Until now this movie was a solid 9 BUT, and this is a big but, the movie takes a dark turn in two areas. First, that a man in his 40's would take a 14 year old surfing addict alone with him for an extended surfing trip to Indonesia (a well known surfing Mecca for Aussie surfers) is dodgy even by 1970's standards. Far worse is the love affair that emerges between Pikelet and Sando's very physically and emotionally damaged wife Eve (Elizabeth Debicki) that was not only criminal in nature (adult woman likely late 20's/early 30's initiating sex with a boy known to be only 14) but in the midst of their torrid affair carried out when Sando is in Indonesia, Eve initiates Pikelet into her own auto erotic practices with a predictably damaging affect. Even allowing for Coulter being 16 at the time of the filming, the whole thing casts a shadow over what until then had been a fabulous movie. Imagine the outcry had they scripted this as a 14 year old surfie girl and Sando seduces her. The double standard over giving a pass when older women have sex with mid teen boys is on full display in this movie and it's unedifying. Aside from this issue, overall it was a fantastic movie. The location was raw and rough unlike pristine accessible beaches seen in most surfing movies, the cinematography was first rate, the acting, especially by the novice teens, was superb and the whole thing had real time and space authenticity.

TRYING to get past the auto erotism asphixiation scene

[dflynn-84731 · 5/10 · 14 May 2018]

You know there are elements to this movie that are fabulous ! The attention to detail of Australia in the 70's is brilliant. The surfing scenes are tense and beautiful. Cinematography is rich and delicious. Richard Roxborough and Rachel Black are completely understated and wonderful as Pikelet's parents and hats off to the young lead actors who do a decent job in their respective roles BUT what fell absolutely flat for me was the 'shift' in the movie 90 minutes in and i'm TOTALLY left scratching my head as to WHY they added a revolting auto erotism asphixiation scene which if i'm right i'm lead to believe was not in the book and just made me sick to my stomach. The sex scenes were tastefully done UNTIL this disgusting moment. It didn't suit the tone of the movie WHATSOEVER and had the roles been reversed and that was a young teenager with a MUCH old man all hell would have broken loose and rightly so ! I just lost all respect for the film after that as there is no way i can now recommend that to my teenage nephews now. Had i been watching an European arthouse erotic flick it would have made sense. I'd love to know why Simon thought this would be suited to what was otherwise a solid and classy movie. 5 stars for the movie and a wopping big zero for that additional scene !

Heartfelt Simplicity

[marydm-43470 · 10/10 · 28 March 2020]

What a gorgeous piece of cinema! Not just the stunning landscapes treated with stunning cinematography but the authenticity of felt human experience communicated in simple narrative and dramatic terms. Forget the genre antics, forget the auteur pretentiousness, forget the arthouse poseurs. Tim Winston's brilliantly realistic story meets a brilliantly realistic cinematic treatment by all involved, Simon Baker proving that authentic lived experience is the best guide to inform directorial duties. He treats the story and its themes like a true local Aussie who's totally at home with the story and the characters that populate it. To his immense credit he's made no attempt to trade off the authenticity of this Australian story for a more internationalised market driven approach. And this sticking to the true spirit of Winston's story pays the ultimate dividend: treating the viewer to a range of universal themes about friendship, growing up, the role of the natural environment in our lives etc. Cinematic Occam's Razor at its best. Keep it simple, keep it true, keep it pure. A beautiful film, visually and emotionally, unpretentious and authentic. Many Aussie directors have gone to Hollywood to make it happen. Simon Baker comes home to do it and does it superbly. Mr Baker, more please!

Simple Review

[andrewgrgtwn · 7/10 · 9 April 2020]

Read a lot of positive reviews regarding this movie, which is why my wife and I gave it a go and we were not disappointed. It's a coming of age drama two teenage boys take an interest in surfing and are coached by an experienced older man. The acting and direction were very good but I must mention the cinematography which was outstanding Australia is a beautiful country and the movie took full of advantage of this.

This is an enjoyable film and takes your thoughts away from the current world situation.

My wife and I both scored this a seven and recommend this movie.

Warm and complex but...

[kate_klarwill · 5/10 · 27 June 2019]

Watched this last night and I will probably watch it again. Simon Baker adds a heartily complex layer to the thread of the plot. He is simultaneously likeable yet lost in grief and saltily true to himself. Pikelet is brilliantly cast as is Loonie. Pikelet triumphs as loveable rascal with extraordinary thirst for adrenaline and Loonie is perfectly matched as the best mate whose quiet truth, respect and innocence shine through immediately. And yet.

And yet the story unfurled so beautifully from the beginning, with no over-play of the plot but why the race to the finish? I needed a better ending. Not necessarily a happier one, just similar depth and connection to the conclusion as I had experienced up until the last ten minutes of the story.

Beautiful cinematography. Gorgeously shot. Great tension from moment to moment.

Spirit of the surf

[tosabu2 · 7/10 · 4 May 2018]

Beautiful atmospheric photography and universal of surf culture

Should be retitled YAWN!

[tm-sheehan · 6/10 · 31 August 2018]

I didn't enjoy this movie at all I think it's title should be Yawn not Breath. Great cinematography, one dimensional characters, unexplained plot twists and the 2 characters Sando played well by Simon Baker and Eva played with icy detachment by Elizabeth Debicki I found excruciatingly annoying and frustrating. Sando's character a once famous surfer turned immature irresponsible hippy chasing lost dreams (its never explained what happened to his career) and Eva his sickly injured girl friend who shows no emotion at all and without giving the plot away ( there's not much to give away) becomes entangled in what I found to be a disturbing and predatory sexual encounter with the only character in the story,I had any empathy with .Eva is the most disturbing female character I've seen depicted in a film in ages . The 2 young actors cast as Pikelet and Loonie played by Samson Coulter and Ben Spence are excellent but Richard Roxburgh and Rachael Blake's characters as the parents who seem to let their son do anything he wants , even risk his life fulfilling the whims of surfer hippy freedom in my opinion are wasted due to the parents lack of character development. I did like Pikelet's decision at the end it was the best part of the plot. I know people who enjoyed it and have read good reviews and bad for this film but as I always say the best critic for a film I see is myself and in this instance not my cup of tea thanks, perhaps I'm over Coming of Age films I didn't like Call Me By Your Name either for similar reasons.

Spot On

[leonmandrake · 9/10 · 27 July 2018]

I grew up in the South West of Western Australia where this was filmed. I could relate well to the material and clearly Simon Baker has a love for the material as well. This is essentially a 'coming of age' movie.

Hard One To Rate

[twelve-house-books · 7/10 · 29 December 2018]

The surfing scenes are out of this world. The acting is superb. Surfers who are also actors are a new phenomenon in film, and the director makes great use of their many talents. I would have given this one a 10 if it hadn't been for the multiple scenes of soft porn/adultery which could have been suggested instead of shown.

Mature scenes. Rough language. Nudity. Kinky sexual activity. Lying to good friends.

A beautiful look back at the way it was and it was so good: the film and the time.

[timjohnson-10201 · 10/10 · 19 May 2018]

Breath elicits both very emotive nostalgia as well as a sincere appreciation of the trials that young potential suffers must undergo to succeed against nature; the film is an examination from many angles of the personal hurdles that must be overcome before success in this sport is attainable. Of course, this is not to say that most films do not undertake a similar exploration but I felt that Nature, Baker and the two youngsters did it with aplomb.

Before you sling arrows of dispersion at the acting, remember that the actors had no experience before the camera in any form. They were chosen by the first-time director Simon Baker because of that inexperience. In my opinion, this inexperience adds mamothly to the richness of the proceedings and draws the audience into the significant surfing action that takes place on the screen.

I can't swim so have never contemplated learning to surf, but I can easily relate to the drama and intensity of the emotion that drives most surfers to forsake the normal progression of jobs leading to careers and spend time searching the horizon for their next wave. The film explores this metaphysical as most movies do not.

Pale version of the book

[footscrayvic · 6/10 · 21 August 2021]

I read the book then went looking to see if a movie had been made of it.

I was disappointed with the movie for two main reasons.

Firstly, the movie, while sometimes narrated by Pikelet's older self, seems to focus soley on the younger man, which destroys the major theme of the book, which is why the older Pikelet has screw up a lot of his life.

Secondly, Simon Baker, who plays Sando, is rather unconvincing as a retired professional surfer. He just doesn't have enough physicality. Considering that there isnt all that dialogue for Sando they could have used an actual surfer.

Breathless...

[WalkdenEntertainment · 5/10 · 10 January 2019]

Set in the 70's in Coastal Australia, our story focuses around two teenage boys. Like most teenage boys, they ride their bikes, causing cheeky mischief around the town and are somewhat bored with life. One day they discover a beach with a pro surfer tackling waves fearlessly. Needless to say, the two teenagers are impressed and encouraged to learn how to surf. They earn money by completing horrible chores and soon purchase second- hand surf boards so they can begin to learn.

While learning to surf they meet Sando (Simon Baker), who becomes the boys surfing mentor. Sando was once a pro- surfer himself and sees the potential in these two young boys- perhaps they remind him of himself once. Sando takes the boys to surf spots that also have larger waves that will challenge them.

Will the two boys overcome their fears of the waves and most importantly, how will this new friendship with Sando change all of their lives forever...?

For this who are unaware, Breath is based on a award-winning novel by Tim Winston. While Breath stars Australian actor Simon Baker in a lead roll, Simon Baker is also the director of this film. This is officially Simon Baker's directional debut. Needless to say I was rather curious and supportive given the history of Simon Baker's career.

Filmed and shot in the waters around Western Australia, Breath is a visually stunning film. The sounds and shots of the surf, waves and the creative use of under water filming is fantastic. Because the film is based on a book, we are graced with a narrator from time to time to assist us with plot points. The two young male stars are new to the screen and both provided fun and solid performances (Samson Coulter & Ben Spence).

The films looks great, it has the acting... so what's missing?

The answer is simple- something is lost when the story went to screen. Going into the cinemas the other night, I didn't have a clue what this story was actually about. Based on the film's poster and trailer, I felt there was something great to be told here for all Australian movie lovers. I personally enjoyed where the film was headed within the 1st and 2nd half of the film. Once we reached the film's 3rd and final act, I began to feel confused, uncomfortable and sadly... utterly disappointed. Judging by the other cinema patrons in my cinema, I don't feel I'm the only one here. The film's third act gives very little reward (or possibly none) and resolution. I honestly didn't understand how this happened and I felt like I was cheated as an audience member. I will also comment that in my opinion, the film should actually be rated MA15 + not M as the film contains sex scenes between a young teenage boy and an older woman...

Overall, I personally was enjoying the story of Breath until we reached the film's third act, which ended any joy I did had for film. All the moments surrounding the film's wrap up and 3rd act felt out of place and somewhat random. We also have uncomfortable moments (mostly sex scenes involving a teenage boy). Some people may love the story and might be a fan of the book, but as a film, apart from the strength in the visuals and acting, the story on screen didn't leave me feeling "Breathless".

5.1/10 Walkden Entertainment

Original Australian Story

[jeffmcleo · 9/10 · 27 June 2019]

If you grew up surfing in Australia in the 70's then sit back and reminisce. Well crafted and the acting was so well balanced. Just a great movie

Nice to see South-West and Big Southern again

[okbotamo · 7/10 · 11 May 2022]

Enjoy the vistas. Movie paints them right. I will write about the painting, not the plot. About product placement, too.

Tim Winton's story adding up some farcical ex-suburban plot to the usual package of nostalgia for places away and before. I do like his books, but not the re-runs of the same theme. Cloudstreet this is not.

When it becomes product placement. Product is Australia. West in this case.

This time, unlike beach shack places further north, Winton story takes place down south, in the wettest part of WA. Not Lancelin, Seabird, Gray or similar, but more Windy Harbour way. Which brings lots of darker hues in visuals, much more than one would usually get in the perennial sun bleached bright landscapes of WA.

Wind chimes in sea breeze. Plus some sheets sweat and regrets.

Still much better than any greed of 2000s Liquefied Natural Gas Chevron conquest hordes of once-was-Western Australia. Escapism at its best commercial self.

Enjoy the good parts.

As for those who decide to travel (or even follow the worn-out "6-month backpack routine") to WA (after all, Sando's wife is a tourist of kind), note that it was Disneylandised since (not just 70s, but even since early 2010s). Whole of it, not just Perth, Exmouth, Coral Bay, but down south as well. As silicon as it comes. Zac Efron time.

It would be like going to USA Pacific North-West now, after watching Twin Peaks. A bit late for the party. And even Cobains and grunge have been dead for a long time.

Better enjoy this movie, and then go to the places about which the movies have not been made yet (if there are such).

If you still do go there, sharks and getting shredded along the rocky bottom are for real (and nobody will make a book or a movie about you, if you get hurt). And it is all suburbia, oblivious of surroundings.

I tried to love this movie

[wetwork-17219 · 3/10 · 12 May 2018]

I looked forard to this movie and expected to enjoy it asthe latest high quality Aussie drama. I know the area it was filmed in intimately. I really think that if I had not recognised the backdrops I would have enjoyed the movie less and would have given it a score of 1. The surfing sequences are really well filmed - made me sit and think about how the cameraman must have captured the scene. They created the feelings of doom, bravery and fear. That said, there was little else good here. Not much reflected believable real life, it suffered from the Australian affliction of "one scene and one prolonged look into the mid-distance says more than a 1000 words". It's all been done before. Even the leading lady (supposedly the smouldering star's wife?) fell into this trap - why did she suddenly want to home shool this teenager. I worried about the fact that the kid was proably below the age of consent. The story meandered, there were unecessary scenes (the truck crash with the shot cow - what did it relate to?). But the gratuitous plastic bag scenes, as others have mentioned - why, why, why include these. I do see that others would see that it was used to show the wife's loss of enjoyment of living normally. It added a nasty undertone which was superfluous. Where were the women in the movie- they were just food or sex providers. I admit that I do not enjoy Tim Winton's output but even he must have slepwalked through the screenplay.

Clarification on the bikes

[pfarnell · 8/10 · 9 December 2020]

One other reviewer writes:

"A particularly insipid example is early in the film the two teenagers get around on under-sized kid's BMX bicycles........." If it is the bikes I saw, they are not 'BMXs, they are classic 70s 'Dragsters" , in Australia often Malvern Star or 'Sportsworld' brand, banana seat,sissy-bar, 3 speed Sturmey gears. They actually would have obtained those bikes as authentic 1970s props. They are sort of the cycling equivalent of Pet Rocks.They are not out of place for the boys in film to be riding, I did not trade mine in until I hit 15 or 16yo.

Beautiful

[Saiph90 · 9/10 · 30 June 2019]

I have never read the author but will read his work, the film is beautifully filmed, good story line and well acted. Coming of age movies can be gooey but this is believable and a joy to watch.