Blackrock

To be completely honest, the only reason i saw this movie was because in our English class we read the screenplay by Nick Enright. And that was it. I wouldn't have watched this movie otherwise.

Yes, this movie contained an almost-taboo subject that hasn't been seen all that often before. But that is the problem: The whole movie rotated around that one happening, this one occurrence.

And, 10 years later, we have become somewhat desensitized to those occurrences, making them not as shocking as they would have been say, 10 years ago.

If that doesn't collapse an already shaky plot, nothing will.

Put it simply, this movie was made to shock people. It was made to bring to light a subject that usually isn't discussed. But the problem, the hole in this plan, was that it didn't.

Another thing i noticed was that the acting was extremely rushed. The dialogue was rushed. The reactions and emotions were rushed. Some of the characters would scream and cry and shout insults at mere words that would only at most leave us frowning. What the director was trying to convey as hopelessness and devastation only came through as characters in need of intense anger management.

Another is that the characters themselves were not given anything to hold onto. If i hadn't read the original screenplay, half of these characters morals would be foreign to me. I had an advantage not many would have had before this by actually having an idea of what these people were like. But the thing is, that shouldn't happen. People shouldn't have to read the original works just to get a genuine idea of the movie.

There were also tiny sub-plots that i guess were added in for extra depth, but only ended up being completely unnecessary.

And, finally, the dialogue. Now, because this movie was set in Australia, and hey, i'm Australian too, i can spot when the slang is forced - a feat that appears in so many other Australian movies. And my gosh, it's forced in this movie. It is all too bush for a bunch of teenagers.

One of the only things i can commend the director on is keeping me somewhat entranced for the better part of the movie. I was interested in what was going to happen, but after the climax i felt it was a little stretched. the dark underlying themes - domestic violence, rape, suicide and relationship issues, kept that interest, as weird as it is to admit.

Also, the party scenes in particular were spot-on. The director conveyed the frenzy of teenage parties so accurately i found myself comparing them to some of the own i've been to. And the locations were decent too, and convinced me. I was also happy to see a few familiar faces - a cameo-like appearance from Health Ledger, Jade Gatt off of one of my old favourite cartoon TV shows and that guy off all saints whose name i can never remember.

For what it's worth, the movie does make you think. I know the rape scene haunted me for a little while even after the movie finished. It is also a fact that when our teacher shut it off in class we were more silent than we ever had been before.

Mostly if you just approach it with the fact it is only a movie you'll appreciate it in the slightest.

What would you do if you witnessed some of your friends committing a terrible crime? What would you do if you saw a friend of yours being gang raped? Would you have sat there and watched?. Horrified but able to do nothing. Or would you have helped? This is the dilemma faced by Jared played by Laurence Breuls. This gritty Australian drama explores not only Jared's reactions and feelings about this crime but all of the victim's friends feelings as well. Jared is shattered by the fact that he did not help his friend Leigh when she needed him and even more horrified to find out that his best mate Ricko finished off the job - raping Leigh yet again and then killing her. This movie details how each friend came to grips with this tragic but too often everyday crime.

Blackrock should go down as one of the best Aussie films around. I remember when it came out in 97' n' i thought it was the coolest movie, n' disturbing . I saw the play in High school at the Bogga Road Jail in 98'too.

The acting is great from all the cast, especially Simon Lyndon, one of his best performances and the filming is shot so well. I listen to the soundtrack all the time, its awesome. Songs from The Cruel Sea, Sidewinder, Rebeca's Empire, Beast of Burben and The Cranberry's, they set the time and place.

This film would get pretty disturbing for some viewer's but stuff like this does happen. But i think it's a great film, go check it out!! David Field has a small roll in this but brilliant acting, if your an Aussie n' you have'nt seen it, GET IT NOW!!! 9/10

Director Steven Vidler's film of the Nick Enright play is emotionally weightless. Vidler seems so concerned to make it relevant to the teen generation it's about that he has made what reads as an extended music video complete with a loud soundtrack, an abundance of surfing footage, orange tinting and shorthand editing. It's shocking to see the indifference he applies to the character of the girl who is raped and murdered though this superficiality extends to all the characters.

The material originated as Property of the Clan for the stage but Enright reworked it for a larger theater company, doubling the cast and I feel losing the purity of his intention. This re-drafting is exemplified by creating a cancer crisis which really has no impact on the base story.

Enright's comment on male aggression which is meant to explain the violence is echoed in the protagonist Jared (Laurence Breals) delivering a climactic speech about `mates is all you got' though it rings false when he is shown to have an interest in photography and a girlfriend.

The actors have little to work with and Vidler winds them up to a level of hysteria so that the strine accents and performances by Simon Lyndon, Chris Haywood and David Field are simply ludicrous. Breals performance is all about his hair and Linda Cropper as his mother is stranded. Vidler thankfully deprives us of footage of the murder but repeats flashbacks of the rape as Jared's conscience, though his long range witnessing becomes closeup memory.

Black rock is a very dramatic movie, and therefore would come under the Genre Drama. The movie is set in Black Rock at the beach. Some of the main features of the movie, are: Truth, conflict, hatred, loyalty, fear, moral conflict, adolescence and man hood, tragedy, responsibility, community and most importantly, consent.

Jared is a 17 year old boy who has had a lot on his mind lately, what would you do if you saw something you knew that you could easily stop? In Jared's case, he sat there and observed the dreadful incident, he didn't say a word. Before this incident Jared used to be a typical 17 year old boy who surfed, slept-in and hung out with his friends, now he can't escape his thoughts.

I won't spoil the plot, but this is a film that you must see, at the right moments it was very intense, this film shows you that you must be truthful, or the truth will haunt you forever.