Director / Rachel Perkins (MABO, BRAN NUE DAE)
Stars / Levi Miller, Toni Collette, Dan Wyllie, Angourie Rice, Aaron L. McGrath and Hugo Weaving
The new Australian drama JASPER JONES has its heart in the right place, no doubts about that. Loosely considered an Aussie version of the supreme writings from Harper Lee in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, JASPER JONES also tackles racial prejudice as one of its several themes.
Based on the novel by Craig Silvey and set during the summer of 1969 in Corrigan, Western Australia, indigenous outcast Jasper Jones (McGrath) is faced with a conundrum he cannot deal with alone. While out one night, Jasper stumbles across the dead body of a young female. Knowing that the local authorities will accuse and punish him for a crime he hasn’t committed, Jasper seeks the trust and guidance of Charlie Bucktin (RED DOG: TRUE BLUE & PAN actor Levi Miller), a stranger he identifies as a fellow outsider. Together, the boys begin their own investigation to solve this mystery, while escalating tensions take a hold over the residents of the quiet country town they reside.
This beautifully photographed film falls just shy of reaching excellence.
What begins as a buddying teen crime drama and subsequent mystery soon develops into multi-faceted character drama, brought to existence courtesy of quite an eclectic screenplay. As the mystery and investigation surrounding the death of a local girl, which is the core plot of the film, shifts to being in the background during the middle act, impressive characterisation and strong acting anchor the film. In particular from its international stars – Toni Collette as Charlie’s Mother, young actors Levi Miller and Angourie Rice. There is a realness to most of these locals on screen that largely went missing from Australian films last year. That realness is no more evident than the film’s most outstanding sequence in a pivotal scene starring Hugo Weaving, in a role that is short on screen time but major in proceedings. This scene commences the last chapter of JASPER JONES, a fairly involving one that does unfortunately fail to cover a few too many plot holes as the core story returns to the fore.
So, if you can be lenient towards any loose ends identified and a few less than conceivable details written (or sometimes not), then JASPER JONES is well worth watching.
3 ½ stars
Viewer Discretion/ M (mature themes and coarse language)
Trailer / JASPER JONES
Moviedoc thanks Madman Films and the Cinema Nova for the screening invite to this film.
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