Michael Caton, a locally well known Australian actor in his early 70s totally looks and acts the part of cancer-stricken cab driver Rex from Broken Hill searching for a possible way out in Darwin, nearly 2,000 kilometres away. He produces a rivetingly strong performance that tells a challenging story really well.
If you've never seen the Australian outback or met a few of its characters, this isn't a bad place to start.
Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Rex's neighbour Polly is just wonderful, and I wish more time had been devoted to their relationship, because the conflicts, challenges and unspoken reserve that underpinned the subtleties of this part of the tale deserved more. Emma Hamilton as Julie, a backpacker from London working at the Daly Waters pub shone in the subtle sensitivity of her character. Tilly, a young indigenous man and fellow traveller didn't convince with the clichéd predictability of his dialogue and actions, but provided some funny moments and several useful plot components. Jackie Weaver as pioneering GP Dr Nicole Farmer (which I understand was loosely based on real life Dr Philip Nitshke) was an unconvincing let down. No doubt she helped the bankability of the film, but was probably not the best actor for the role.
But the total package provides a really thought provoking and surprisingly uplifting view of aspects of life we tend to shun, with Michael Caton and the Australian outback the prime contributors.
If you've never seen the Australian outback or met a few of its characters, this isn't a bad place to start.
Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Rex's neighbour Polly is just wonderful, and I wish more time had been devoted to their relationship, because the conflicts, challenges and unspoken reserve that underpinned the subtleties of this part of the tale deserved more. Emma Hamilton as Julie, a backpacker from London working at the Daly Waters pub shone in the subtle sensitivity of her character. Tilly, a young indigenous man and fellow traveller didn't convince with the clichéd predictability of his dialogue and actions, but provided some funny moments and several useful plot components. Jackie Weaver as pioneering GP Dr Nicole Farmer (which I understand was loosely based on real life Dr Philip Nitshke) was an unconvincing let down. No doubt she helped the bankability of the film, but was probably not the best actor for the role.
But the total package provides a really thought provoking and surprisingly uplifting view of aspects of life we tend to shun, with Michael Caton and the Australian outback the prime contributors.