Palm Beach (2019) User Reviews

a slow-moving predictable portrayal of middle-class privilege

[CineMuseFilms · 6/10 · 21 August 2019]

Nobody expects originality in the 'old buddy life-audit' genre. Ask any baby-boomer to name their favourite and it is likely that The Big Chill (1983) will pop up as the benchmark film. The structure is always the same: long-time friends reconnect around a milestone event which slowly descends into sub-plots of secrets and discontent, flavoured by a soundtrack evocative of youth and unfulfilled promise. Palm Beach (2019) follows this format exactly. However, instead of reflecting on the youthful idealism of the 1960s, it is set in a modern context of insatiable white middle-class privilege for an ageing group of malcontents, especially of the male variety.

The single impressive feature of the film is the spectacular panoramic Palm Beach setting on Sydney's Northern Beaches, filmed beautifully with lingering shots of every lovely lighting angle the wealthy can afford. The views are complemented by a stellar local ensemble that includes Bryan Brown, Richard E. Grant, Sam Neill and Greta Scacchi, all of whom play such evenly predictable parts that there may be arguments over whether anybody actually stars in this production. The sourness of this ageing cohort (nobody is seen happy) is given light relief with a few young offspring and a couple of sight gags.

The film's entertainment value rests on comic tropes, blended into a potpourri of indignities familiar to the seniors' demographic. These include nostalgia over failed careers and unresolved affairs, depression, drug abuse, sexual impotence, disappearing libido, disputed parentage, wealth envy, sagging bottoms, and even a breast prosthetic thrown to the floor with a rubbery flump. The flat tension curve is given an upward blip with a psychotic episode where the host becomes so incensed that his panoramic views are blighted by a neighbour's chimney that he attacks it with a sledgehammer. The only other moment where viewers' pulse rate might rise is a boating accident that rudely interrupts the enjoyment of views and fine wine. Given the spoilt misery amongst the group, it is laughable when one of the wives suddenly tries to leave her hapless husband but relents feebly with "just promise me that the next ten years will be the best time of our lives".

Palm Beach is pretty to look at, light-hearted and mildly entertaining. It is also slow moving, over-acted, and lightweight. It will probably have a short shelf life and struggle to find audiences beyond the well-off suburbs around Sydney. It could have been so much better.

Director: Rachel Ward Stars: Bryan Brown, Richard E. Grant, Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi

A great shiny package but little inside .

[tm-sheehan · 6/10 · 8 August 2019]

My Review- Palm Beach 6/10

I wish this Australian movie success just because I support our film industry but it wasn't my cuppa tea at all.

It's set of course in one of the most beautiful beach side settings in Australia so it looks splendid but I just couldn't warm to any of these spoiled self indulgent Nouveau riche characters.

The saying house guests are like fish , they go off after 2 days is more than true with these characters , they went off for me about half an hour in to the story and began to wish for a Tsunami to whisk them away. Especially Richard E Grant as Billy an insipid , sarcastic failed musician who taunts the host and mocks his wife.

All the stereotypes of dysfunctional family characters are on display in Palm Beach , the ageing actress , the dutiful but unhappy wife , the spoiled indulged adult children and all the men are in crisis of some sort or another.

The acting is good, the setting is delightful the script is ok but one particular scene involving a chimney demolition and the underlying tension involving DNA identification left me at the end thinking I really dislike these people .

I much preferred meeting The Fockers , at least they were interesting but perhaps unlike me you may enjoy it .

I just thought it was like an enticing chocolate wrapped in gold foil but when eaten, a little bitter and disappointing.

Great location

[david_r_cox · 7/10 · 5 September 2020]

Enjoyed this movie more than I expected, such great views and family secrets to keep the pot boiling so to speak

Great light hearted movie

[melissahmcgrath · 7/10 · 18 August 2019]

Gorgeous Sydney scenery, solid cast, cool little story. Mumma Mia without the annoying outbursts of songs

Over 60s males, this time it's your turn

[DonnahL · 6/10 · 6 August 2019]

10 out of 10 for the cinematography and production design. I love my films to look like tourism commercials, and we don't do enough of that in Australian cinema.

But as a thirtysomething female, the content of this film really irritated me. It's a bit hard to watch a bunch of privileged, egotistical, white male baby boomers sip Dom Perignon in a Palm Beach mansion and lament about their "real-life problems" - even if it is somebody's birthday!

I'm reminded enough of this generation wealth and health gap going to work everyday; this isn't something I want to watch on the big screen too.

Having said that, if you are an older male, then finally someone has made a film for you. There have been a string of films like this for the over 60s women, now men it's your turn!

You can not fault the actual film making, everything is beautiful, and I want to support Australian film, I'm just the wrong target-market.

A Tourism NSW video

[peter-outdoorliving · 2/10 · 20 August 2019]

I really wanted to like this. Some of the great Australian actors, including the luminous Jacqueline McKenzie, together in the one movie. Shame they wasted such talent on such a mediocre script. Richard Grant was tired, the scenarios, relationships and dialogue not believable. On a level with a Home and Away episode, but with better scenery.

This was clearly made as some sort of tourism video; pity that revelation doesn't come till the closing credits. None of the talent shines to their capability, save for the cameraman.

An easy watch

[linda-plant2 · 7/10 · 28 July 2020]

Not being aux fait with a lot of the 'tall poppy' reviews, whatever that means, but I found it ok to watch. It didn't tax the brain, and sometimes thats whats needed with a cuppa and biscuit.

One gripe, was trying to figure out which child belonged to which couple, with clearly adult and small kids alike. I hadn't realised Matilda Brown was an 'offspring' until read it on here.

I wondered if Greta Scacchi had been ill, due to the weight increase and 'puffy' face, but then realised her age - 60 !!! how did that happen ??? so like many of us we all have to succumb to the inevitable. Still a beauty though ! Its barely yesterday since I watched her in White Mischief and Presumed Innocent.

Can't relate.

[eelen-seth · 4/10 · 6 August 2019]

Palm Beach, which premiered as the opening film of this year's Sydney Film Festival, tells the story of a group of good friends who have a few secrets. Those secrets are bound to surface at some point. Why not do it while celebrating a birthday?

Director Rachel Ward co-wrote the story with Joanna Murray-Smith, which tackles some ethical predicaments and feelings that get repressed with (expected) catastrophic consequences. Every year we get a similar scenario presented to us on television or even on the big screen, so why do we keep making these films? The difference with Palm Beach, is that I couldn't sympathise with any of these characters. Rich white people having rich white people problems - can't relate.

That doesn't mean these stories aren't allowed to have a platform to be told, everyone wants to escape their daily life at some point and peek through a window to see what happens behind closed doors. The film takes place in the titular Sydney suburb - blue skies and crystal clear waves everywhere you look. Three members of our group of friends (Bryan Brown, Sam Neil and Richard E. Grant), used to form the band Pacific Sideburns. Their partners and children are also present and ready for a weekend of beachy tranquility.

The evening our friends arrive at Frank (Brown) and his wife Charlotte's (Greta Scacchi) house, Leo (Neill) mentions to Charlotte the pact they formed a very long time ago. Not entirely clear why he recalls this pact so suddenly, this causes the amicable vibe in the house to rise with a few degrees and everyone seems to be feeling this tension. This secretive pact lingers in the background while everyone passes their days behind luscious cheese boards and champagne by the crate, in and around Frank and Charlotte's lush hilltop habitat with panoramic view. A panoramic view ruined by a chimney, which becomes a daily discussion topic that drives Frank to his boiling point.

Cinematographer Bonnie Elliott does a great job showing off the beautiful beaches of Sydney and the nighttime scenes, but when it comes to garden gatherings it all looks a little bit too much like a commercial of some kind. The glossiness makes it look like as if some scenes were shot on an indoor-set, while I'm pretty sure this wasn't her intention. Nonetheless, a great effort that lifted the film to a higher level.

The problems these characters face are nothing but drama on the surface while being comfortable in their day-to-day life - shallow and smug. But like I said before, why tell a story that has been told in different forms many times before, if there isn't a character to relate with or feel sympathy for? The cast does a great job though. There wasn't a single person that I could point out as being a bad actor, neither was there a performance considered to be scene-stealing.

Going in with low expectations, I thought the first half was more interesting than the second. Clocking in at 100 minutes, the film feels a lot longer and without any real stakes, there's no satisfying ending to look forward to. Palm Beach is a film without a purpose and could easily be dropped on a streaming platform, to attract a bigger audience or people wanting to check it out without paying extra for it.

Pleasant

[SafChaleur · 7/10 · 24 September 2019]

So this film is clever in many ways because it appeals exactly to the demographic that like to go to the cinema. The story is about life-long friends who gather together for Frank's birthday and explore some unresolved issues only to solidify their relationships further by the end of the film. The film is similar to many English films that have been it's predecessor but it is set in OZ. Rachel Ward does some nice subtle tricks when directing this film and uses the incredible landscape to full effect. It is almost like a tourism to promote NSW. Great performances all around but what would you expect from the seasoned pros in the film. I found the sound track suited the film but the lack of Foley and layering resulted empty atmosphere. It would have been better to invest some money in sound to compliment the beautiful depth of colour and visual images featured in the film. But isn't sound is always the hardest thing to get right on a movie? The story is pretty basic and we are just voyeurs in the life of the wealthy. Would prefer to see real issues explore by characters the Western suburbs than observe a bunch of wealthy blokes in Palm Beach have a late mid-life crisis. And there lies the problem of the film and story - it is a touch pretentious. Why does Rachel Ward think the audience is only interested in middle-upper class people? Or is it just that this is the environment she understands best? I think it is probably that she thought it would be aesthetically pleasing. The result is a stereotyped approached to a genre that has already been done many times over. There is a formula being applied which does work and it works for people who want to see an Aussie version English films. Still a great effort and many delicate touches by the director. Hope it does well for the team that made it. Congrats.

A movie length episode of Home and Away focusing on adults.

[cameron-whyte · 4/10 · 8 February 2020]

I used to get indignant when people would say "It's alright for an Australian film", however, the more Australian films I see lately, the more I get we don't make the best films.

Set in beautiful Palm Beach (as the title suggests), this movie is about a bunch of people who used to be in a band, along with there current family members, getting back together for a reunion of sorts for their manager's birthday. They all have skeletons in the closet that rattle their bones to make themselves known.

This film feel like it is just a movie length episode of TV soap. However, if you watch it on DVD, then you have no ads and you don't have the musical crescendo to build up to an ad break to keep you interested.

Bryan Brown and Sam Neil are brilliant actors and I like their work as actors, but this film is just a little slow.

Engaging, humorous and entertaining adult drama

[rayclister · 8/10 · 11 August 2019]

I really do not understand the negative views on this film which I found to have a lot going for it. Intelligent script, good acting and well drawn characters results in a fine film. The cinematography was stunning given the location and although the lifestyle depicted is not something the average Joe would be over familiar with it demonstrates that no matter how well heeled you are, friends and family face problems that all can in some way relate to.

Great movie but poor arcs

[benjaminlupton · 6/10 · 29 August 2020]

The setup for this movie is great, and I wish to see more movies featuring dramas of the aged population. However, the reconciliations made no sense at all; and who was the blonde the daughter of, and was the red head Leo's blood? Why did Leo suddenly not want to be a father when the potential son had his injury. Not a single reconciliation made sense.

2 hours of my life I'll never get back

[cooperzhutch · 3/10 · 8 August 2019]

Today first day of screening went to see Palm Beach with a family member who was keen have to admit the only Australian movie that is memorable to me is The Castle so wasn't expecting to be blown away and my gut feeling was right it was a story which has been done so many times before with a few tweaks using verteran actors trying to be cool millinials slurping back expensive drinks and gulping down lobster and moaning how they are loosing it with old age the plot cheesy and soap operish and the romantic foreplay scenes with the 60 something's was off putting and I'm no spring chicken to put it plain I would have left by earlier if if been on my own I give it 3 for the scenery and the effort of trying to make something entertaining

So many missed opportunities.

[bobbsaunders · 5/10 · 20 August 2019]

Desperately tryng to channel "The Big Chill" Rachel Ward lets most of the dramatic opportunities pass her by, instead falling back on tourism images. Yes Palm Beach is fabulously picturesque, I know, I live closeby. But the location became the hero when it should have just been a backdrop necessary to establish that the lead character (Bryan Brown) was absurdly wealthy. After the first few minutes I was groaning at the cliches and wooden direction and wondering if I might just walk out. But it gained some traction by mid film and started to show some glimpses of promise.......but when an opportunity opened up for some depth, the story veered away, leaving us wanting more in vain. Just about all of the seasoned actors looked uncomfortable, even Bryan Brown who co produced it. The only small spark was his daughter, Matilda Brown, who looks uncannily like her mother (Rachel Ward) and has real screen presence, but she needs a better vehicle than Mum &Dads little indulgence of a film.

Terrific Cast, Well-shot, but pointless meandering script

[tpindustries · 4/10 · 14 April 2021]

As I said, terrific cast, anything with Sam Neill and Bryan Brown together is going to be great, they're both veteran actors and they have terrific chemistry, however the writing is somewhat scattershot, most plot points are abandoned almost fifteen minutes after they're brought up, such as Richard E. Grant's character stealing one of their songs and using it for a jingle, they all seemed rightf pissed off about it and the next morning they all act like nothing even happened.

Mama Mia mute version

[ks-60500 · 5/10 · 30 December 2019]

Nice hose and beach with bunch of 60/70s middle class stories. Like it or not? Not much. But some long familiar face of actor/ess can see in this movie is comforting.

A breezy summer fun that focuses on the characters' onscreen chemistry

[mjfhhh · 9/10 · 30 July 2019]

Frank (Bryan Brown) is having a big birthday party so he invites his best friends Leo (Sam Neill) and Billy (Richard E Grant) with their spouses and families to his house in PALM BEACH. It doesn't take long for the grudges, old and new, to emerge and the old secrets refuse to be buried. The commotion that rocks the three families threatens to ruin the holiday. What will it take to get things back on track?

Exploring the nature of a true family, that goes far beyond blood relations, PALM BEACH is a colourful portrait of a lifelong friendship with all its outcomes, good and bad, beautiful and ugly.

While the dining table drama-comedy has become its own sub genre in France (Little White Lies, Namesake) and Italy (PERFECT STRANGERS) middle class families rarely take centre stage in Australian film.

Palm beach takes a very Australian approach, avoiding high concept drama, it is breezy summer fun that focuses on the characters' onscreen chemistry. Sam Neill and Bryan Brown celebrate their birthdays together in real life, and it shows. Add a great location, breathtaking views, a catchy seventies soundtrack and you get an hour and a half of a cosy dramedy where jokes are never forced and funny, and the sad moments ring true.

Director Rachel Ward (who is also credited as one of the writers) gives an unexpected depth to a simple story, makes some basic ideas look interesting and fresh, and manages to deliver the point without preaching.

Some films are a remedy and a getaway from real life problems. See this movie. Be this party's crasher. You won't want it to end.

Another tourism commercial

[Hamlet2 · 1/10 · 23 July 2020]

I have just wasted $6:00 and 40 minutes of my life watching this boring imitation of THE BIG CHILL. I say 40 minutes as I couldn't stand it any longer. As a tourism commercial it barely makes the grade. There is only so long one can admire the scenery. Pedestrian direction and actors who at least had the good grace to look as though they would rather be somewhere else as they recited lines from a mediocre script. I can only assumed it was funded because of the names involved. A pointless waste of money.

Self indulgent crap

[samlong-51710 · 2/10 · 27 April 2021]

This would have been an excellent movie if they had of set it in say Western Sydney.

It is basically the same as the big chill but ended up being a self centred movie star rich people and I really expected more from such a good director and fantastic cast.

Very disappointed.

Awful, boring, unoriginal, avoid at all costs

[maclabhruinn · 1/10 · 6 December 2020]

Rachel Ward is a good actress, and she seems like a nice woman. And this movie includes some deservedly famous actors like Sam Neill, Brian Brown and Greta Scacchi, even the luminous Nell Cambell in a small role. So it is with considerable regret I have to rate this one of the worst movies i've ever seen. Yep, literally. It's pretty much "The Big Chill" relocated to Palm Beach in Sydney; but with more money, glamour, and less profundity. The setting is so ludicrously opulent, it makes it hard to identify with the actors at all. The entire plot is immediately obvious, a recurring cliche: put a bunch of old friends and relatives together in a house for a few days, some old tensions flare up, angry friends decamp to opposite ends of the house, then some crisis brings everything to a head, everyone is reconciled, then they all sit around basking in friendship without the simmering tensions of before. The soundtrack is the greatest hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s, loud and intrusive, telling exactly how we are supposed to feel at every point. There might be a handful of people in Australia who really do live like this, but they are so remote it's hard to have much common feeling with them; why should we sympathise with people who have so much seemingly barely-deserved wealth. In fairness, my wife thought it was a light-hearted, escapist romp. For me, it was 100 minutes of execrable tedium.

Painful viewing

[poetryclh · 1/10 · 8 April 2021]

This was embarrassing to watch because the story-line and dialogue demanded that the viewer be really stupid and enjoy seeing adults behaving like toddlers. I continued watching, thinking that surely it will get better, that there will turn out to be a reason that this film has been made.

Sadly that was not to be the case. Maybe it was made to show off the scenery. But what is the use of scenery when the human life is so dismally depressingly inane.

An enjoyable 100 minutes

[ross-547-585754 · 8/10 · 16 August 2019]

Sure this has been done before, most notably The Big Chill, but this was a refreshing Aussie version. The cast was distinguished and they all contributed to a satisfying and entertaining movie. The plot of old friends getting together over an extended weekend in a beautiful part of the world and then years of dramas in the group bubbling to the surface is not new, but this treatment worked. I enjoyed the revelations and must admit they were sometimes unexpected. The locale was spectacular and I can see why it was supported by NSW tourism. All told I'm glad I saw it. Well done to the team.

Painful

[tonyduffy-92474 · 1/10 · 26 January 2021]

Watching this was like watching an animal get tortured

The most excruciatingly tedious film I've watched this decade

[nigel-denning-2 · 1/10 · 20 December 2022]

On the plus side, we found ourselves laughing through this film, but only because it was so unbelievably bad! They're literally is no story - old friends meet for a party and spend the first hour having tedious conversations and doing ordinary and everyday things. It was basically like watching Big Brother in film format. Then we learn that who the father of the host's son is was never determined, and that perhaps they should know. After another half hour of tedium, a girl pipes up that she tested his DNA a while back and knows the son is her brother so mystery solved. If this film was 20 minutes long it would've been twice as long as it needed to be.

"I'm not who I was"

[BrunoRatesTheMovies · 4/10 · 24 January 2022]

Family gatherings are already a boiling point for drama, throw them all in an isolated fancy holiday home on the exclusive Australian Palm Beach. This was a pretty good, albeit very white, Australian movie. Seeing other people's family drama is always a fun pastime.