Stewart Kane, an Irishman living in the Australian town of Jindabyne, is on a fishing trip in isolated hill country with three other men when they discover the body of a murdered girl in the river. Rather than return to the town immediately, they continue fishing and report their gruesome find days later. Stewart's wife Claire is the last to find out. Deeply disturbed by her husband's action, her faith in her relationship with Stewart is shaken to the core. She wants to understand and tries to make things right. In her determination to help the victim's family Claire sets herself not only against her own family and friends but also those of the dead girl. Her marriage is taken to the brink and her peaceful life with Stewart and their young son hangs in the balance. The story of a murder and a marriage – a film about the things that haunt us.
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime: 123 minutes
Rating: 6.4/10 (3,466 votes)
Release Date: 23 May 2006
Country: Australia
Languages: English, Irish Gaelic
Sound: Dolby Digital
MPAA: Rated R for disturbing images, language and some nudity.
Director(s): Ray Lawrence
Producer(s):
Philippa Bateman – executive producer
Garry Charny – executive producer
Catherine Jarman – producer
Tony Tvrdeich – line producer
Writer(s):
Raymond Carver – short story "So Much Water So Close to Home"
Beatrix Christian – written by
Cast:
Chris Haywood – Gregory
Tatea Reilly – Susan
Laura Linney – Claire
Sean Rees-Wemyss – Tom
Gabriel Byrne – Stewart Kane
Deborra-Lee Furness – Jude
John Howard – Carl
Eva Lazzaro – Caylin-Calandria
Maya Daniels – Caylin-Calandria's Mother
Bob Baines – Doctor #1
Music: Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe
Tagline: Under the surface of every life lies a mystery
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I had a really hard time making it through this move. It was extermlyslow and at times wondered when the plot of the movie would actuallycome to life.
This movie seemed to flow to slow and I kept on wondering when it wasgoing to end. I am normally a person who likes a good indie file everyonce in a while but this did not satisfy what I was looking for.
It seemed they tried to make to much out of this movie. At one point itseemed to turn political which I am not a big fan of in movies. If youare looking for a slow moving movie with little to no plot then this isthe right movie for you. As for me I felt I wasted 2 hours when I couldof been doing something else.
"Jindabyne" is an elegant, thought-provoking drama that uses mysticismand social commentary to tell the story of a serial killer and hisimpact on a community. Jindabyne is a small town in New South Walesthat had to be relocated in the 1960's due to the damning of a localriver. Since that time, a number of legends have sprung up around theold town that currently resides at the bottom of the newly formed lake.It's almost as if the ghosts of the past linger on to haunt thoseliving in the present.
The trouble begins when four buddies, while on a fishing trip in aremote area of the mountains, discover the body of a murdered girlfloating in a river. Rather than returning home immediately to informthe authorities of what they've uncovered, the men decide to continuefishing for a few more days. This sets off tremendous reverberationsamong both the townsfolk and their own individual families when the menfinally arrive back home with their story.
"Jindabyne" throws so many disparate characters and plot lines into themix that it could easily have become dissipated and unfocused had itfallen into less capable hands than those of writer Beatrix Christianand director Ray Lawrence. Instead, in adapting Raymond Carver's shortstory, "So Much Water So Close to Home," to the screen, thesefilmmakers have created a broad, multi-leveled drama that is not afraidto take its time in gathering the strands of its story, and which is asmuch a portrait of a complex, troubled marriage and of a community tornasunder by a shocking event as it is a tale of an unsolved murder.
Yet, even though the film is rich in minor characters (all enacted by afirst-rate cast), the main focus is on Claire and Stuart Kane, twoindividuals with deep-seated problems and issues that are sometimes asunclear to us as they are to the characters themselves. In fact, somuch is taking place beneath the surface with these characters that themurder mystery itself becomes almost incidental to what the movie isreally all about. Indeed, the meaning is often found in those thingswhich are left UNSAID, rather than what is actually stated.
Laura Linney is particularly compelling as a woman battling adepression she can't quite understand, yet trying her best to keep herfamily from coming apart at the seams. Gabriel Byrne is equallyintriguing as her husband, a basically decent guy who makes a crucialwrong choice in not reporting the body immediately, and then must livewith the consequences of that action for the rest of his life. Themovie also deals with the issues of ethical choices, social ostracismand even racial division (the victim was of aboriginal descent) thatarise as a result of the men's actions – or, if you prefer, lack ofaction – in the course of the story. Finally, the movie broadens out tobecome a tale of personal redemption and communal healing.
The filmmakers heighten the sense of mystery by never spelling thedetails out for us in simplistic terms, trusting the audience to graspthe meaning without having to be hit over the head with it. As anindication of the intelligence and depth of the storytelling, thecharacters in this film are never even remotely pigeonholed as "types,"a fact that keeps us unbalanced and off guard for the duration of themovie.
Lawrence's direction is lyrical, unhurried and focused, and thephotography by David Williamson perfectly captures the haunting beautyof the Australian countryside.
Those searching for a conventional serial killer thriller are destined,perhaps, to be disappointed by "Jindabyne," but those with a taste forthe unconventional and unexpected will surely appreciate the richesoffered by this unusually subtle and complex film.
This is an abysmal piece of story-telling. It is about an hour into themovie before we have much idea of what it is supposed to be about; thecharacters often mumble inaudibly; actions frequently seem to have norelation to each other; nobody seems to be concerned about who actuallymurdered the girl; a pair of spooky kids go swimming in waters thatseem threatening but nothing happens; the Irishman gets punched in theface by one of his buddies for no apparent reason … to continue wouldbe as boring as the movie itself. The only half-entertaining element isthe landscape photography; but anyone could point a camera at theAustralian outback a get memorable shots. Overall – dreary, incoherent,pretentious – and downright annoying for wasting so much of theviewer's time.
With no fault to the actors (they all put on great performances), theoverall story was not very well executed. The movie opens with a greatzinger: a crazy old guy forces a young Aborigine girl's car off theroad. But then, we're forced to endure 40 minutes of characterdevelopment with an entirely new group of characters … and we don'tknow why until the 40 minutes are up. It turns out that they are theones who eventually discover the girl's body … and the storyprogresses from there.
While the story does pick up at that point, it really goes nowhere.After 2 hours, I asked myself: was there a point to this, or was itjust to see the characters struggle with accusations of racism andstupidity of how they handled the discovery? The story was ultimatelyunsatisfying and felt unfinished. While it is well acted, there's not astrong enough backbone in the film to warrant recommending it.
This has to be the worse movie I have seen in the last 12 months,almost devoid of any redeeming qualities, except for the acting ofGabriel Byrne and Laura Linney (who sure has a knack for picking ayearly pretentious dud project to star in).
Some people have raved about the beautiful photography and directionwhen, in reality, those are actually terrible. The pacing of this movieis painfully bad. The photography is amateurish. What's actuallysemi-interesting are the Australian landscapes and surroundings, evenif captured by people with no sense of vision. Most first year filmstudents would actually do much better technically. It's just terriblefilm-making.
The story? A single, weak and extremely stupid premise, the impact ofwhich are then explored in the most boring way. The characters? Most ofthem are terribly sketchy, behave in mind-boggling ways. Ray Lawrencehas absolutely no idea how to provide any context, believability orstir up any reaction from his audience.
I am the type of person who tries to find redeeming values in the worsefilms but here, there's really nothing positive to say. This movie isgarbage.