The director too often errs on the side of embellishing details that didn't need to be expanded upon.
Jindabyne (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:93
Fresh:61
Rotten:32
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Jindabyne's disparate themes may not quite cohere, but the film features fine performances from Linney and Byrne.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for disturbing images, language and some nudity.
Runtime: 2 hrs 3 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 27, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $224,114
Synopsis: On an annual fishing trip, in isolated high country, Stewart, Carl, Rocco and Billy ('the Kid') find a girl's body in the river. It's too late in the day for them to hike back to the road and... On an annual fishing trip, in isolated high country, Stewart, Carl, Rocco and Billy ('the Kid') find a girl's body in the river. It's too late in the day for them to hike back to the road and report their tragic find. The next morning, instead of making the long trek back, they spend the day fishing. Their decision to stay on at the river is a little mysterious — almost as if the place itself is exerting some kind of magic over them. When the men finally return home to Jindabyne, and report finding the body, all hell breaks loose. Their wives can't understand how they could have gone fishing with the dead girl right there in the water — she needed their help. The men are confused — the girl was already dead, there was nothing they could do for her. Stewart's wife Claire is the last to know. As details filter out, and Stewart resists talking about what has happened, she is unnerved. There is a callousness about all of this which disturbs her deeply. Stewart is not convinced that he has done anything wrong. Claire's faith in her relationship with her husband is shaken to the core. The fishermen, their wives and their children are suddenly haunted by their own bad spirits. As public opinion builds against the actions of the men, their certainty about themselves and the decision they made at the river is challenged. They cannot undo what they have done. Only Claire understands that something fundamental is not being addressed. She wants to understand and tries to make things right. In her determination Claire sets herself not only against her own family and friends but also those of the dead girl. Her marriage is taken to the brink and her peaceful life with Stewart and their young son hangs in the balance. --© Sony Pictures Classics [More]
Starring: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard
Starring: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell, Stelios Yiakmis, Alice Garner, Simon Stone, Eva Lazarro, Sean Rees-Wemyss, Tatea Reilly, Betty Lucas, Chris Haywood
Director: Ray Lawrence
Director: Ray Lawrence
Screenwriter: Beatrix Christian
Story: Raymond Carver
Producer: Catherine Jarman
Composer: Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
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Reviews for Jindabyne
t’s a thoughtful, bracing drama in the mould of Lawrence’s much-decorated Lantana.
Lawrence and Christian have the luxury of more time to explore [the story], but instead they merely add several external, superficial elements that misunderstand and circumvent the story's center.
Throughout Jindabyne, I felt completely creeped out. From the disturbing opening to images of children killing animals, adults abusing each other, and a corpse, the viewing experience was unpleasant.
The film is novelistic in its nuance, in the patience of its storytelling and in the complexity of its mostly unhappy characters.
The result is a mature and challenging motion picture, and something that will stick with viewers after the screen has gone dark.
Apart from a contrived ending, Jindabyne comes as close as can be to a perfect drama.
The movie's remaining revelations build slowly into a set of surprisingly powerful emotional beats.
The movie is beautifully shot, and succeeds in being deeply disturbing and mysterious, with richly achieved nuances of characterisation. I have seen it two or three times now, and each time it gets better.
A slow, complex tale about how people live together, and about the rituals and relationships that constitute community.
A whole lot of padding turns a fine enough story into a dour, wordy slog.
Murder isn't allowed to become a distraction. Consequently, with all its haunting moodiness, moral alarm bells and relational issues, the film isn't much more than the unexpanded short story it derives from.
A sobering and serious Australian movie that touches the deep places in us that are haunted and colored by love, loss, community, and grief.
Though Linney is the standout, short-shrift should not be given to the rest of the cast, whose roles might be smaller but they're the ones who add a little color to this otherwise dreary vista.
The resolution Jindabyne eventually offers feels small and safe. The movie goes out with a whimper.
By the end of his films- this idiosyncratic style, complex plotting, and core values about intimacy produce a combination of exhaustion, well-being, and a bit of unease. At the conclusion of "Jindabyne," while Lawrence's torturous journey has given more
The issues raised in Jindabyne %u2013 race hatred and prejudice and opposing those antisocial acts %u2013 resonate on a world level.
Latest News for Jindabyne
April 28, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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April 26, 2007:
Critical Consensus: This Film Is "Condemned"; "Next" Vexes; Guess "Invisible," "Kickin' It" Tomatometers!
This week at the movies, we've got clairvoyants ("Next," with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore), cons ("The Condemned," starring Steve Austin and Vinnie... More...
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