This movie was extremely thought-provoking for me. I am 71 and I have cancer.
I remember the Northern Territory's brief venture into legalised euthanasia in the 1990s, which was crudely overturned by John Howard's federal government because his religious backers simply couldn't stand the thought of it. Ordinary citizens given the right to determine their lives - whatever next?
Now I find myself at the pointy end of this issue, and living in Western Australia, which has just this month legislated for Voluntary Assisted Dying, and although modern 'miracle' medication is currently doing very well for me, I certainly want to be thinking about what will happen if my own prognosis eventually becomes very short and my quality of life begins to drop off the planet. So I most willingly placed myself in the shoes of cab driver Rex and travelled his journey.
Curiously enough, it is a journey my wife and I have already largely travelled, or at least the road trip is. We have towed our caravan 48,000 km across Australia over the last 8 years, and visited almost every location shown, with the sole exception of William Creek on Lake Eyre. I am wearing a polo shirt from the Daly Waters Hotel as I write!
In fact, in the early stages as the plot began to unfold, I said to my wife "now, how would you get from Broken Hill to Darwin?" I could not think of any easy direct route, but Rex chose to turn off the Barrier Highway at Olary, past the Flinders Range and eventually take the unsealed and very much seasonal Oodnadatta Track, (passing the famous Pink Roadhouse where my wife had spent a birthday) and thence to the Stuart Highway. So we loved the views of all those outback places we had very much enjoyed.
I understand that Rex's story was based on that of a cancer sufferer named Max Bell, and saw a very clear reference to him in the shot of Bell's in Broken Hill. This is a fabulous retro 1950s-style milk bar which we have visited a number of times.
And just as Max Bell found, although the law had been passed, its actual implementation was another issue, and Jacki Weaver's portrayal of her frustration with this was excellent. Initially she displayed disappointment that she could not assist Rex to obtain the relief from suffering he so much sought, but then a small note began to creep in that she might be even more frustrated that her own project could not yet be brought to fruition. This was where the film moved into more complex territory, and although as with Max Bell, in the end Rex drove all the way back to Broken Hill, the film had portrayed him as so weak that this would have been all but impossible. I might have given it a perfect 10, but the slightly clumsy handling of this ending negated that.
An excellent 9/10, and enjoy the journey through the magnificent beauty of our outback!
I remember the Northern Territory's brief venture into legalised euthanasia in the 1990s, which was crudely overturned by John Howard's federal government because his religious backers simply couldn't stand the thought of it. Ordinary citizens given the right to determine their lives - whatever next?
Now I find myself at the pointy end of this issue, and living in Western Australia, which has just this month legislated for Voluntary Assisted Dying, and although modern 'miracle' medication is currently doing very well for me, I certainly want to be thinking about what will happen if my own prognosis eventually becomes very short and my quality of life begins to drop off the planet. So I most willingly placed myself in the shoes of cab driver Rex and travelled his journey.
Curiously enough, it is a journey my wife and I have already largely travelled, or at least the road trip is. We have towed our caravan 48,000 km across Australia over the last 8 years, and visited almost every location shown, with the sole exception of William Creek on Lake Eyre. I am wearing a polo shirt from the Daly Waters Hotel as I write!
In fact, in the early stages as the plot began to unfold, I said to my wife "now, how would you get from Broken Hill to Darwin?" I could not think of any easy direct route, but Rex chose to turn off the Barrier Highway at Olary, past the Flinders Range and eventually take the unsealed and very much seasonal Oodnadatta Track, (passing the famous Pink Roadhouse where my wife had spent a birthday) and thence to the Stuart Highway. So we loved the views of all those outback places we had very much enjoyed.
I understand that Rex's story was based on that of a cancer sufferer named Max Bell, and saw a very clear reference to him in the shot of Bell's in Broken Hill. This is a fabulous retro 1950s-style milk bar which we have visited a number of times.
And just as Max Bell found, although the law had been passed, its actual implementation was another issue, and Jacki Weaver's portrayal of her frustration with this was excellent. Initially she displayed disappointment that she could not assist Rex to obtain the relief from suffering he so much sought, but then a small note began to creep in that she might be even more frustrated that her own project could not yet be brought to fruition. This was where the film moved into more complex territory, and although as with Max Bell, in the end Rex drove all the way back to Broken Hill, the film had portrayed him as so weak that this would have been all but impossible. I might have given it a perfect 10, but the slightly clumsy handling of this ending negated that.
An excellent 9/10, and enjoy the journey through the magnificent beauty of our outback!