Muriel’s Wedding
Miramax

Another Australian finally getting their due is Toni Collette for her role in The Sixth Sense. While she has turned in great performances in the last few years (Emma, Clockwatchers, Velvet Goldmine), there is one role that stands out and shows off her rich talents. Muriel’s Wedding, which was written and directed by P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend’s Wedding), stars Collete as Muriel, a lonely and dumpy girl who spends too much time in her room rocking out to ABBA albums. On a break from common sense, Muriel decides to crash a tropical vacation that her ‘friends’ went on without Muriel. Through this adventure she meets Rhonda, a wacky free spirit (played by Hilary and Jackie’s Rachel Griffiths), who helps Muriel break out of her sad existence.

These types of Australian films are always laced with a level of sadness and pain throughout all the humor. They don’t rely on pure slapstick or jokes, instead they mix humanity and life experiences that we have all had or can relate to on some level into their scripts and that produces these touchy and quirky comedies that Australia has produced at a good rate. For her part, Collette gave her all in this film (including gaining upwards of forty pounds for the part), and did a splendid job of capturing her character’s hurt and pain at not having true love. Her role won her the Australian equivalent of the Academy Awards and gave her a strong introduction into her work in American cinema.

Manhunter
USA

To stay with The Insider for a bit more, its nominated director, Michael Mann, directed such hits as The Last of the Mohicans and Heat. A lesser-known film, of which he helmed and wrote the screenplay, deserves to have more attention, especially when the third installment of the series, Hannibal is pre-production. Manhunter is the film based on Thomas Harris’s book, Red Dragon, which chronicled the struggle of a former FBI agent, Will Graham (William F. Peterson), trying to track down a smart serial killer. Graham cannot do it alone and must get help from the man he captured and had locked away forever … Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is well played here by British actor Brian Cox. While it isn’t as powerful a portrayal as the one Anthony Hopkins would give some four years later in The Silence of the Lambs, it still stands as a strong rendition of the evil doctor. Mann wisely captured the hospital-like sterility of Lector’s cell and his polite and deceiving mannerisms.

What Mann is great at here is placing us in the shoes of the killer early on by letting us see what he sees as he stakes out potential victims and showing us the killer as a very smart individual, methodically plotting every last detail. Manhunter doesn’t reach the same emotional depth of Lambs (not many films could), it still holds up well on its own as a scary, solid thriller.

Romper Stomper
Seon Films

With the Academy Awards just a few weeks away — March 26 — here is your chance to check out a few great films by some of this year’s nominees.

Australian actor Russell Crowe, nominated for his powerful performance in The Insider has long acted in a wide array of films. From his tough, renegade cop role in L.A. Confidential to his mysterious and moody cowboy/clergy part in Sam Raimi’s campy and fun The Quick and the Dead, Crowe simmers onscreen with a methodical intensity that permeates even the worst of his films (remember Virtuosity? I didn’t think so). In 1992, a little Australian film was causing quite a controversy in its homeland for being too violent and harsh. Romper Stomper, was indeed brutal at times, but it didn’t deserve the bad rap it received for its content. Crowe played Hando, the leader of a skinhead clan that enjoyed going around and severely beating up people they didn’t like (mainly Asians). The violence is necessary to show the level of hatred these young people harbor toward what they perceive to be their enemy. It is a fascinating look at a societal problem — disenfranchised youth with their misdirected anger — that we get to see from a different country’s view. Crowe’s brilliant performance was a true foreshadow of what acting success lay ahead of him.

Also check out these nominees:
(All titles available on video)

Director nominee for Cider House Rules, Lasse Hallström – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and the 1985 Swedish (and art-house) hit about adolescence and growing up, My Life As A Dog (Mitt Liv Som Hund).

Supporting Actor nominee for Cider House Rules, Michael Caine – 1986’s Mona Lisa and the biting and perverse 1990 black comedy A Shock To The System with Caine as a man who is making a killing on the job.

Supporting Actress nominee for Being John Malkovich, Catherine Keener – 1998’s Out of Sight and Your Friends and Neighbors where she played a cold hearted bitch to Ben Stiller’s whiny and neurotic adulterer.

Original Screenplay nominee for Magnolia, Paul Thomas Anderson – 1997’s under appreciated epic Boogie Nights and his 1996 feature-film debut, Hard Eight, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson and Anderson regulars Phillip Baker Hall and John C. Reilly as a group of people mixed up with gambling, murder and love in Reno. A great first film.

Best Actress nominee for American Beauty, Annette Benning – Her talents first truly shone through in 1990’s The Grifters, playing one in a trio of con artists with Angelica Huston and John Cusack. Her performance showcased both her sultry and serious sides and left a strong impression. Also funny in 1996’s Mars Attacks and humorous to watch in one of her first roles in 1988’s The Great Outdoors as Dan Aykroyd’s wife, also starring John Candy.

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