The Castle [M]

The Kerrigans are a simple and happy family living right next to an airport at 3 Highview Crescent, Cooloroo; living in complete obscurity and being contented to be so. But that all changes when the airport decides to expand and the family is compulsively required to move. But to Darryl, number 3 was never a house, it is a home and, after all, a man’s home is his castle. So the tow-truck driving, greyhound racing father of the Kerrigan household stands up and becomes something he was never meant to be: a hero. 

Like Muriel’s Wedding and Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Castle is an iconic Australian film that just brings brutal truth to that old saying “less is more”. It’s a classic story and a character’s movie by nature, and it’s absolutely wonderful: funny, relatable, heart-warming, and memorable. You can’t go wrong with The Castle. 

The Kerrigans are a simple and happy family living right next to an airport at 3 Highview Crescent, Cooloroo; living in complete obscurity and being very contented to be so. But that all changes when the airport decides to expand and the family is compulsively required to move. Although they are offered compensation, Darryl Kerrigan refuses to move because, to him, it’s not a house, it’s a home and a man’s home is his castle. So, the tow-truck driving, greyhound racing father of the Kerrigan household stands up and becomes something that he was never meant to be: a hero. 

The magic of this film comes in the forms of its simplicity. The story is one that’s a classic example of good vs. evil, moral principals vs. constitutional law: as simple as black and white. The story of the everyman standing up and blatantly saying “no” is something that everyone can relate to, which makes this film one that’s very down-to-earth and hits close to home. 

What seals the film’s appeal, for me, is the fact that it is a character’s movie. The Castle is about an average Aussie family living in the further reaches of civilisation, and it’s wonderful to see these simple and natural characters that lead blissful lives of hard-earned comfort and find peace and joy in the simplicities of life: things like saying certain words, staring at man’s creations, and most importantly, having an effect of every person that they meet in their lives. The Kerrigan family is just a beautiful one that feels very natural and genuinely like a unit, and it’s bloody beautiful; “a little ripper” as Darryl would say. 

Starring Michal Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe, Sophie Lee, Wayne Hope, Tiriel Mora, Tony Martin, Costas Kilias, Charles Tingwell, and Eric Bana, The Castle is a wonderful Aussie comedy that just proves that the simplest things in life are the most joyous. Filled with drama, the law, memorable characters, comedy, romance, defiance, and a heart-warming story, it’s a film that I absolutely adore and can easily come back to time and time again.