M, 97 minutes
3 Stars
Review by © Jane Freebury
In a take on the dynamics between those who leave and those who remain home as they pursue their career, a suave, assured young stage designer returns to small-town Western Australia. Farewelling his mother in respite care and checking in on his remaining family is in every sense a wakeup call.
Without mum around, the family home has become a repository for old newspapers (that contain articles his father Fred wants to keep), baked bean cans (that have exploded on the stove) and old lightbulbs that need changing. Concerned about the mess but barely arrived, Stephen (Luke Bracey) starts scolding his father on his personal habits. The most astonishing of these eccentricities is combining a shower with a clothes wash. Whatever Fred (Bryan Brown) does, it still takes a lot for him, or for any other character inhabited by the veteran actor for that matter even when as overdrawn as this, to cease being endearing.
It is virtually impossible on the other hand for the two hirsute and burly brothers Greg and Dave Bell (Ryan Graeme Allen and Declan Brown, respectively), who recognise Stephen from school, to redeem themselves. Minor but significant characters, they take rude exception to Stephen’s presence at the local pub. Well, he would go along wearing a cravat, now wouldn’t he?
The menace these two bullies convey suggests certain famous Aussie thrillers set in the outback. The tone may be gentle mockery, but how they could turn out to be the kind of guys the film ultimately says they are, in scenes accompanied by blatant product placement, beats me.
As a child he’d hoped that his real parents would come to claim him one day
That said, Susie Porter as Nikki, Stephen’s sister, is as always believable. Her role as grounded sibling with family and respectable career is a comfortable counterweight to the self-absorbed brother, a career high-flyer whose work is in demand overseas. Yet, her brother confides at one point that as a child he felt as though he belonged in another family. That his real parents would come to claim him one day. It would have been interesting to have that explored.
Intriguing to note that former romantic partners back home still want to sleep with Stephen, while his cellist girlfriend back in Europe waits impatiently for his return. It is hard not to wonder whether the Bryan Brown character, so resolutely resistant to change, was more of a device to serve the rationale for leaving in the first place.
A small-scale personal drama from one of this country’s most successful film directors, whose early work played such a big part in helping to set up an industry here, is necessarily an event. Since those raw early days, Bruce Beresford has directed big stars in the international industry and has returned to work in Australia with outstanding recent films like Mao’s Last Dancer and Ladies in Black. And yes, he has directed opera overseas.
A Bryan Brown character is ultimately endearing, but it’s harder to rescue the schoolyard bullies
His body of work suggests a filmmaker of many parts. The riotous Barry McKenzie films broke new ground while other early work like Don’s Party, The Getting of Wisdom and Breaker Morant (with Bryan Brown unforgettable as one of the lead characters) have become Australian classics.
It is puzzling that The Travellers is somewhat vague about place and time. Some of the interactions between characters could be taking place 50 years ago and yet we are in a present, with boutique viticulture and smart phones. Perhaps a portrait of the late Queen in the town hall where Stephen is invited to present a local art prize is but a cheeky anachronism.
Yet, the closing scenes as Stephen’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata plays to all the doubters is a bold, rousing and surprising final touch. The focus turns to what he loves to do, making a clear distinction between the man and his art, and it works.
Jane’s reviews are also published at Rotten Tomatoes