My partner and I were just sitting around discussing some of the worst films we'd ever seen. The Oyster Farmer came up, being a really pathetic film, and so we looked on the IMDD website to read the user comments, and were shocked to see such a high score. I can only think that the comments were by other Australians who like to talk up their own country's products, like the way people vote on Eurovision Song Contest night. Or perhaps they liked the look of the river (although cinematically, so much more could have been made of that) so I guess they were just fondly remembering some childhood holidays there. So what's wrong with this film, you ask? Firstly, it's plot is incredibly contrived it is almost twisted around the location. Also, the acting is awful; very amateurish, and they've had little help from the Dirctor. Thirdly, the actors had so little to work with in terms of script; there are no characters in this film, only caricatures. Stylistically it is akin to the Australian soap opera Home and Away, only with worse acting and less character development. There is some comedy in the film; it takes the form of some dumb characters being dumb. The sex scene near the end is so out of place and seems completely arbitrary; I think it's there actually to provide a climax of sorts. So, for all those users who voted this empty little film-making exercise up the ranks, try watching it again, but more objectively this time. I'm sure you'll come to see that it's actually very lowbrow indeed.
Review of Oyster Farmer
