Ray Lawrence
Lantana

THE REVIEW

Lantana is a psychological drama about the relationship between man and woman, disguised as a thriller. It speaks of love and incommunicability, of absolute values and the inadequacy of making them one's own due to the ‘solubility’ of the human being.
Four couples live more or less together, more or less happy. Less happy, definitely less.
Four couples that will intersect, brush against each other, clash, part ways or find each other again.

In a gray and muffled Sydney, the characters of this solid ensemble film wander sadly and painfully. They flounder confused, searching for something else only to realize that ‘something else’ is an illusion and can crack, pollute, and even destroy forever what you have.

Great actors, great dialogues. Based on a theatrical play, it is structured as an ensemble film, in the style of ‘Magnolia’, so to speak, but less ambitious and more essential.

Philosophy and psychology constantly filter and insinuate themselves through the cracks of monotony, almost decrypting the hateful, boring, and gray routine of every day, only to realize that without it, you are left even more disoriented, uncertain, unstable.

Even the direction, steady and glacial, harmonizes well with the film's tones. Dry, dark, damn real tones. So real they could bore you… like reality, indeed.
Because cinema is escape, spectacle is a dream… etc. YES, but not only, fortunately.
Fortunately, at least for me, who prefers realistic films rather than those pre-packaged with plastic faces, ping-pong dialogues with Tom who says ‘A’ and John who responds ‘B’ and you already know someone will say ‘C’ until reaching the Z like in a silly nursery rhyme.

I prefer a coherent ending rather than a happy ending at all costs.

“Many couples stay together for love, passion, habit, respect. What kept us together was the pain.”