US, UK critics blast Australia

2008-11-26 16:00

Sydney - Sydney movie director Baz Luhrmann must have been smarting on Wednesday after newspapers in the United States gave generally unfavourable reviews of the romantic melodrama Australia.

But locals rallied round, queuing for tickets and sticking up for a film that showcases local talent and which set a national record with its $150m budget.

"We thought we'd see it on the first day because it's Australia, about Australia," said Sydney resident Stan Plantzos. "And Nicole Kidman, we love her."

A sentiment not shared by London Times critic Melanie Reid, who charged Luhrmann with a "fatal error" in casting Kidman opposite Hugh Jackman.

Alone among the North American papers, the New York Times had praise for Kidman, with critic Manohla Dargis declaring "she's wonderfully and fully expressive here, from wince-worthy start to heartbreaking finish, whether she's wrinkling her nose in mock disgust or rushing across a dusty field, her arms pumping so wildly that it's a wonder well water doesn't spring from her mouth".

Not impressed

The New York Daily News gave Jackman higher marks than Kidman, but wasn't impressed with the 165-minute offering. "With Australia, Luhrmann obviously intends to stage a grand romance against the epic backdrop of World War II," it said.

"But what we get instead is an unwieldy mess that needed another six months in the editing room."

Liam Lacey, writing in Canada's Globe and Mail, picks up a common theme in accusing Luhrmann of stuffing too much into his first feature since 2001's successful Moulin Rouge!.

"All in all, Australia is so damnably eager to please that it feels like being pinned down by a giant overfriendly dingo and having your face licked for about three hours: theoretically endearing but, honestly, kind of gross," Lacey writes.

Lisa Schwarbaum, writing in Entertainment Weekly, complains that "missing the 'e' in epic, the filmmaker has produced a laboured pic weighed down by the very artifice that is traditionally his specialty."

Hostile local critic

In USA Today, Luhrmann is berated for a "melodramatic exercise in tedium" that offers only "schmaltz and cliché".

The poor reception abroad was starkly different from the warmth Luhrmann received at home. Local critics said that, while no masterpiece, Australia would fill cinemas and reward those paying to fill them.

Only one local was openly hostile, and even then used a pseudonym when posting a review on the internet.

"On behalf of the 21 million Australians who were not involved in this film, I apologise to the rest of the world," the blogger wrote.

"Please punish those involved in the development, production and green-lighting of this national embarrassment for their hubris by keeping your wallet in your pocket." - dpa

- SAPA