8/3/2023 0 Comments Jasper jones 2017![]() Yet its Miller and McGrath, the latter in his debut feature, who make the film their own in the midst of massive star talent. The friendship that forms between Jasper and Charlie is in spite of these cultural norms, providing a guiding light in a film that goes to some very dark places. Similarly, Hugo Weaving looms large as Mad Jack Lionel, the ultimate small-town outsider whose legend is bigger than his tragic past. Toni Collete’s mother character is a villain of sorts, at least from the perspective of young Charlie, but her performance (like all things in a young boy’s mind) is magnified. Selling this conceit are the wonderful characters that populate Corrigan, each with their own concealed truths. Mark Wareham’s stellar photography often lurks in dimly lit locales, providing genuine shocks and warm summer moments in equal measure. Here it becomes more akin to To Kill a Mockingbird, with Charlie’s dad (Dan Wyllie) an Atticus Finch type without the resolve. Yet at the core of the narrative is deep examination of race in Australia, from the Vietnam War era treatment of the family of Jeffrey Liu (Kevin Long), Charlie’s best friend, to the automatic suspicion and abuse in custody of the titular Jasper Jones. On the surface, JASPER JONES can be viewed as a localised spin on the coming-of-age adventures that mirror the American picaresque adventures of Tom Sawyer. ![]() ![]() Confronted with a shocking discovery, the pair must navigate a web of secrets and lies as the town turns itself inside-out in the coming days. Set in the mining town of Corrigan in Western Australia in the late 1960s, 13-year-old Charlie Bucktin (Levi Miller) has a nocturnal visit by fellow teen Jasper Jones (Aaron McGrath), a social outcast due to his mixed Anglo-Aboriginal heritage. JASPER JONES, an adaptation of Craig Silvey’s novel, sits somewhere between these two as a powerful coming-of-age drama with a lot to say about race in Australia. Mabo and The First Australians both documented the legacy of European contact and colonisation, while musical comedy Bran Nue Dae was a self-assured celebration filtered through a kitschy retro vibe. The films and television work of Rachel Perkins have ensured a strong representation of Indigenous Australian voices in the media over the last decade or so. Seen at home (Amazon streaming), London, Sunday 22 December 2019.Rachel Perkins’ youth-centric adaptation is a mystery that combines Harper Lee and Mark Twain in Western Australia, tackling race and prejudice full-on in a complex series of secrets and lies. McGrath, Angourie Rice, Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving Length 105 minutes. It may not perhaps be surprising, but it’s all done very well.ĭirector Rachel Perkins Writers Shaun Grant and Craig Silvey (based on Silvey’s novel) Cinematographer Mark Wareham Starring Levi Miller, Aaron L. After the initial shock of them finding the girl’s dead body, glimpsed only briefly (thankfully), the tone evens out into being a slow-burning drama about the secrets being hidden within this community. It’s a stylish evocation of a period, and is mostly very successful, with some fine filmmaking and acting (not least from the ever-reliable Toni Collette). McGrath) who is distrusted and blamed by most of this small community, but it’s really mostly about a kid called Charlie (Levi Miller) who gets involved with the (possible) suicide of a girl in the town, which he spends much of the movie trying to uncover the truth about. Jasper Jones is named after the part-Aborigine boy (played by Aaron L. Small town Australia in 1969 has the kind of vibe we’ve become accustomed to in American films about the 1950s, of communities made up of like-minded individuals with pent-up issues around women and racism that resolve themselves in violent, self-lacerating ways - the same director has already handled this very time period (albeit in a comedic musical format) with Bran Nue Dae (2009), while Celia (1989) deals with a similar small town vibe (albeit set in the 1950s). I probably don’t have enough films left to manage even one more week, to be honest, so I’m not sure what the theme will be next week, but here goes a few more Oz flicks. For the next two weeks I’m in Australia, and even though I’ve already done one Australia theme week, here’s another.
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