LANTANA (FILM)

'''Lantana''' is a 2001 Australian film, directed by Ray Lawrence. It is based on the play ''Speaking In Tongues'' by Andrew Bovell, which premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company. The film won seven AFI Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (LaPaglia), Best Actress (Armstrong), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Contents

Plot

Cast

Critical Reaction

External links

Plot

Lantana is set in suburban Sydney and focuses on the relationships between the characters in the film. The central event of the film is the disappearance and death of a woman whose body is shown at the start of the film, but whose identity is not revealed until later.
The name ''Lantana'' derives from the plant Lantana, a weed prevalent in suburban Sydney. It is a metaphor for the tangled, intertwined relationships that are present in the film.
The movie opens up with Leon (Anthony LaPaglia) having sex with Jane (Rachael Blake) in a motel room. Jane, recently separated from her husband, is an acquaintance of Leon's wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong). Sonja is a homemaker and mother of two with a passion for Latin dance and a deep sense of unease about her marriage to Leon. She is being treated by Valerie (Barbara Hershey), a therapist who is still deeply mourning the murder of her eleven-year-old daughter, Eleanor. Valerie is married to John, (Geoffrey Rush) who feels increasingly alienated from his wife. He is also angry about the fact that she wrote a book about their daughter's murder.
Later in the film, Leon has drinks with Peter, Jane's soon-to-be ex-husband, only finding out who he is when Leon goes to Jane's house on police duty as she placed a call, arousing suspicion that her neighbour Nik may have something to do with Valerie's disapperance. Peter appeared earlier in the film; he showed up unannounced at Jane's house when she wasn't home and questioned the neighbor, Nik (Vince Colosimo), about her activities. Nik is married to Paula (Daniella Farinacci), a nurse. Paula, who is friendly with Jane, feels somewhat suspicious of her after Nik claims that Jane came on to him. Jane ends up reporting him to the police after she witnesses him doing something that links him to the disappearance of one of the characters.

Cast

★ Anthony LaPaglia - Leon Zat

★ Rachael Blake - Jane O'May

★ Kerry Armstrong - Sonja Zat

★ Jon Bennett - Steve

★ Melissa Martinez - Lisa

★ Nicholas Cooper - Sam Zat

★ Marc Dwyer - Dylan Zat

★ Leah Purcell - Claudia Wiss

★ Barbara Hershey - Valerie Somers

★ Geoffrey Rush - John Knox

★ Glenn Robbins - Pete O'May

★ Daniella Farinacci - Paula D'Amato

★ Vince Colosimo - Nik D'Amato

★ Peter Phelps - Patrick Phelan

Critical Reaction

The film garnered much critical reaction from international film critics who praised it for being very realistic whilst maintaining a metaphorical message. It was also compared to the similar suburban-set thriller, ''Blue Velvet''. It premiered in the UK on Channel 4 in December 2006.

External links

★

★ Lantana at the National Film and Sound Archive