Initial Reaction

Look Both Ways

The film was different to many I have seen before. I found the movie very depressive in its portrayal of everyday life for Australian people and their life in South Australia. The movie follows Nick, a local newspaper photographer who is stricken with cancer. He meets Meryl, a struggling painter who meets Nick at a train accident site. On the site is Andy who writes for the local newspaper. Along with other characters do their lives intertwine and life becomes epiphanising for these characters from South Australia.

Both characters, Nick and Meryl have both appeared on Play School, also the character Tim (Nick’s Boss) was in the Australian Series Round-The-Twist. The soundtrack featured many songs yet I was familiar with the song Lighthouse – The Waifs. By recognising the song made connecting with the characters easier in setting the mood.

The movie deals with a lot of the small dramas people have in life that would normally seem insignificant. It is easier to understand what the characters go through because the film, setting, characters and conflicts are all Australian. It details the appropriate context as it deals with cause distress in the mediocre lives of those involved. Many other small country towns can relate as life can be very similar.

6 out of 10

By Nick