In recent years, Australian cinema has been slowly yet surely dividing into two generalised camp: the quirky crime caper and the earnest emotional drama. With both feet squarely in the latter, Tom White is a failed attempt at what Lantana so successfully achieved. The story of a man who tears his own life apart, Tom White is a well intentioned film that grapples with the thorny and un-blokey issue of men capitulating to emotional torment. White (Colin Friels) has the kind of life most aspire to – loving family, cosy home, successful job. Yet White is loosing his grasp and when demoted at work, goes on a drinking binge that takes him on an uncharted journey from which he never returns. On this other side he meets a number of characters who re-colour his world view; people like Matt, a young prostitute; Malcolm (Bill Hunter), a delusional bum and Jet, a sprightly young punk. Through these heavily contrived associations, Tom finally comes to grips with his loss and finds a way to face life again. Director Alkinos Tslimidos teams up with the writer of his previous film, Silent Partner to create similarly flawed results. But where they found some success in the stylised effect of Tom White’s predecessor, Tslimidos seems unwilling to choose between his protagonist’s fanciful aspirations and the reality his world. Where it should float in a mercurial haze, the film labours under the burdensome weight of artifice as Friels’ thrashes around trying to give purpose to White’s distress. By the time he reconnects with his family, we’ve long stopped caring about the unconvincing emotional drama of either Tom White or Tom White. // COLIN FRASER