NEWCASTLE
NEWCASTLE |
 |
With the Junior Surf Pro only weeks away, Jess has to find a way to emerge from the destructive shadow of his older brother. Meanwhile, brother Fergus has got his own set of problems. | score 3 |
moviereview rates films from 1 (unwatchable) to 5 (unmissable) |
| FIND A MOVIEREVIEW |
| Cast Lachlan Buchanan, Xavier Samuel, Reshad Strik, Anthony Hayes, Shane Jacobson, Barry Otto, Joy Smithers Director Dan Castle Screenwriter Dan Castle Country Australia Rating / Running Time M / 107 minutes Australian Release November 2008 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2008
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
Dan Castle of Newcastle, USA directs this variant of Stand By Me dropped into the surf culture of Newcastle, NSW. He largely succeeds thanks to the solid performance of Xavier Samuel (September)
and the striking underwater lensing of DoP Richard Michalak.
There’s a deep familiarity to this tale of friendship struck in
the fires of tragedy, and the emerging understanding that grows between
teenage Jesse (Lachlan Buchanan) and his twin brother Fergus (Samuel).
Yet it’s given a welcome tweak of freshness due cast and
location, plus a rewarding subplot of emerging sexuality. The Junior Surf Pro is only weeks away and Jesse, grappling with the long shadow of his aggressive brother Victor, a surf-champ who missed his shot at the big time, wants to stake his own wave. To ease up on the pressure, he and a couple of mates first plan a weekend away but are joined by his awkward brother Fergus. Then Victor arrives and a weekend of sun, surf and sex takes a sudden, dark turn. Newcastle is a good-looking film that cheerily opens a window on teenage, beachside Australia seldom seen on film. The cast is compelling and Castle’s treatment of gay themes within a masculine, surf culture is honest and winningly free of cloying sentiment. Less certain is his engagement with family turmoil that lands heavily on a story light on character depth and investment. It’s about here that it starts to feel more like a significant episode of Home and Away: all expressive uproar and unexplored back-story. None the less, Newcastle is an engaging yarn buoyed by some spectacular surf action. Emotional discord aside; it will strike the right note with any teenage surfie heading beach-ward this summer. // COLIN FRASER |