Lantana [M]

A woman disappears… four marriages are drawn into a complex web of sex, lies, betrayal, deceit, love, and death…and not all will survive. Detective Leon Zat moves through a dark and twisted labyrinth of relationships on a quest that will reveal more than just the fate of a missing woman. 

I’m pretty sure than I have seen this film before, for school or something or other, but I came across is at work a few days ago and figured that I might get more out of it now that I am a bit older and able to read more about plots and films. This film is a delightfully dark and dramatic look the complexities of relationships as well as the different types of relationship that can go pear-shaped.

When a woman goes missing, four marriages are drawn into a complex web of lies, sex, deceit, betrayal, love, and death and not all of them will survive. Detective Leon Zat, who is going through his own marital problems, weaves his way through a dark and dramatic labyrinth of relationships that eventually will reveal much more than the fate of a missing woman.

This film was remarkable for two reasons:
One: The story dealt with many complex relationships and themes, but it actually was very simple to follow. Despite the abundance of characters and individual dramas that each of them suffer, you never have to stop and think about what is actually going on. You know exactly what’s happening with whom and who is sleeping with whom. It could very easily have become really complex and confusing, but it didn’t and that’s what makes a good film; having a story that has a little bit of complexity, but just enough to intrigue but not confuse the audience.
Two: absolutely every actor in this film delivered a moving and memorable performance. I do not have enough time nor the energy to list and favour every performance in this film because literally every performance was an absolute dramatic knockout. The film won seven AFI Awards (and rightly so): Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. Need I say more?
Starring Kerry Armstrong, Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershery, Rachael Blake, Vince Colosimo, Russell Dykstra, Daniela Farinacci, Peter Phelps, Leah Purcell, and Glenn Robbins, Lantana was a wonderfully dark and dramatic film filled with lies, deceit, sex, romance, dancing, affairs, favours, drama, and death. It was engaging, chilling, and just all around a landmark film.