"Somersault" is a vivid, interesting coming-of-age tale about a young girl who runs away from home, and quickly has encounters and experiences that force her to grow up fast. Heidi (Abbie Cornish) is a lively teenage girl living at home with her single mother (Olivia Pigeot). When she's caught kissing her mum's creepy tattooed boyfriend, she does a runner, ending up in a lowly ski resort. She charms her way into a job and a place to stay, but soon her abundant sexuality and immaturity mean she eventually becomes unstuck... This is a bleaker depiction of Australia than is seen in most popular soap operas. Shot in shades of grey and blue, it is shown to be a cold, barren wasteland inhabited by disconnected, lonely human beings. Director Cate Shortland shows this off to good effect, but could have done without the arty shots of falling leaves, and slow-motion captures of passing countryside and kept the story told in a more straightforward way. The coming-of-age plot is a standard hook, naive teenage girl uses newfound sexuality to achieve intimacy, people exploit her, she defeats this and becomes hardened and wiser as a result. "Somersault" does not quite follow this path, and while there is a suggestion that Heidi has become wiser by the end, it is clear she still has a lot of growing up to do. Throughout, the girl seems dazed and disconnected by the real world around her, and in this the parallel between her and an autistic boy she encounters is not exploited nearly enough. As Heidi, Abbie Cornish gives a performance that is at once sultry and naive. With blonde hair, fresh face and husky voice, Abbie captures the girl's sensuality and insecurity very well. The only flaw is the primordial scream she lets out on losing her job at a serving station. That is the only false note in her entire performance. Sam Worthington plays Joe, the only character in the film who truly understands her, while dealing with demons and anxieties all his own. Sam delivers a subtle, noteworthy performance. Not perfect and a tad too arty in places, "Somersault" should nevertheless be the basis for more Australian pictures.

This is the story of a young girl who escapes home after her mum caught her making out with her (mum's) boyfriend and her struggle to build her own life in a new town, finding a job, a boyfriend, etc. This Australian film differs from others with similar topics by never taking the drama too far. While there are several moments in which things could have gone horribly wrong for Heidi, and we get a glimpse at how vulnerable and insecure she is, not everything's lost for her yet. It's Abbie Cornish's great acting that makes her character believable even throughout her very questionable decisions, while she is confusing sex with love. There are quite a few really charming scenes, in which the nice soundtrack and the images of her wandering around looking at things create very intimate and unique moments, but one would have hoped for more of those. Additionally, a few scenes, like the meetings between her love interest and his gay neighbor feel kinda pointless. Still, the atmosphere and the acting keep the film interesting and the ending is actually kinda sweet. Not bad.