On a long, hot South Australian weekend, the lives of four people change forever. Local tragedy forms the backdrop to stories linked by fate when Phil learns he has cancer and Meryl returns from her father’s funeral. Sensing need, they form a tentative relationship just as Phil’s egocentric workmate is loosing track of his. Their boss, energised by these misfortunes, starts putting his own house in order. Director Sarah Watt mixes action with animation to create a parallel world for her characters, in what seems like a suspiciously contrived graduate production. Yet Look Both Ways is something altogether different. This is a confident film that sets its own rhythms and style not in defiance of convention, but to enhance it. As Meryl sees danger in flights of animated fancy, it, and other such interludes, expand Watt’s characters in a beguiling, often alarming, fashion. At first the story burns ponderously as existential framework is erected; then ignites with all the pathos and wit the situation can muster. Despite a few stumbles on the way to the station, this is a product of its conviction. Solid direction and sturdy acting by newcomers and old timers (including Anthony Hayes and William McInnes) define a film that’s determined to be different without surrendering to quirk. Look Both Ways is a remarkably touching story, one laced with surprising affection. By film’s end, Watt has pulled you so deep into the concerns of her characters, you’ll care what happens to these people. // COLIN FRASER