Look Both Ways

Death is a touchy subject to broach regardless of the medium in which you choose to expose it. It's uncomfortable to even think about yet touches us all on many levels, and that is why LOOK BOTH WAYS succeeds.

Building on death in thought-provoking, sad, and often hilarious terms, Look Both Ways binds a small Australian community together after the death of a man upon the local railroad tracks. Meryl (Justine Clarke, DANNY DECKCHAIR) witnesses the horrible event and summons the authorities. The local media shows up, including photojournalist Nick (William McInnes, IRRESISTIBLE) who's just been diagnosed with a rapidly spreading cancer. Also on the scene is Nick's newspaper partner Andy (Anthony Hayes, NED KELLY) and eventually the deceased's wife Julia (Daniella Farinacci, BROTHERS).

Meryl sees the event as just another death, something that fill her thoughts and her paintings on a daily basis. Her vivid imagination surrounding death is illustrated (literally) via laughingly silly animated sequences that are sure to tickle your dark funny bone. Photojournalist Nick sees himself on the railroad tracks, having just received a medical death sentence of metastatic testicular cancer. Newspaper writer Andy battles to understand life and death while struggling to be a good father to his divorced children, and the discovery that his new girlfriend is pregnant with an unwanted child. Widow Julia tries to understand the seemingly meaninglessness of her husband's death as flowers flow into her home and she's forced to come to grips with such a sudden loss.

Where Look Both Ways succeeds is in its delivery. Each person views death under their own unique umbrella, but are bound together by this one tragic event. Meryl and Nick become oddball lovers during a one night stand, while newsman Andy tries to sort through his chaotic and merciless lifestyle. Widow Julia and the engineer who was driving the train are two of the more interesting cases within the story, as they have no speaking parts until the very end, but are given ample screen time which speaks volumes on its own.

The message of the flick is simple but not forced: look at death both ways. See it as a necessity but don't dwell on it. There is hope and fear within it, operating not at opposite ends of the spectrum, but as a gauge on how to live life without death looming ever present on one's mind.

Meryl, the one who the film is mostly about, learns this lesson the hard way, coming to terms with her own fate, and that of Nick who's cancerous life is destined to plow into hers with the force of a padded sledgehammer.

Every couple of years the quality of our films seems to peak then decline. For every Muriel's Wedding or Lantana there are four films like The Nugget or Strange Bedfellows. Perhaps it's our complete saturation of American culture. Our expectations are such that everything we see must conform to the mold of American T.V. or film. 'Look Both Ways' is another attempt to fly in the face of this all-consuming wave, one that grows steadily bigger. The ability to tell distinctly Australian stories, whether they be set in suburbia or outback, period or contemporary, is something that should be encouraged and supported. This is not a U.S bashing exercise. Or a dig at the media in this country. I merely want to state that it is good to see courage taken by Australian film makers and financiers by making this film. We will never be as big as Hollywood, and we shouldn't try to be. National cinema, no matter what country it is, exists to enhance and enrich the culture that it comes from. We should be happy that this film has been made, because it gives hope for the future, until the media proclaims that our industry has declined again.

Getting to the film, I feel that it gives a feeling of hope in the face of uncertainty and fear. The main characters have to deal with things that creep up on us without warning, whether it be the death of a loved one, or a freight train accident, or the first unsure steps in a developing relationship. The film focuses on how these events can cripple our daily lives, sending us into muddled states of grief and fear. It also makes us treasure what we have. this film is a gem, one that deserves to have a wide viewer ship, just so that the world can see what we are capable of.

I concur with Mia-38's comment. This is an absorbing film, tastefully executed and rewarding to watch. Death is a daily topic in all media, part of which is shown in the film by the short animated sequences. This film takes us to what happens in our lives before that final event, death. One question raised is whether a particular death is accidental or possibly suicide. It has often been said that movies are a reactive medium. This film is sparse in dialog and much is told through expressions of some really fine acting. I believe this film will become a classic with time and be honored by many critics who on review will begin to appreciate the finesse and delicate technique of its creator. Please see this film and in so doing you will support a courageous distributor and a talented movie maker. Jim

This beautiful film is possibly one of the best Australian Films in the past few years. The performances of William McInnis, Justine Clarke and Anthony Hayes are real convincing portrayal of characters trapped in a moment in time. The delicate performance of McInnis as the cancer suffering Nick, brings home the real feelings of disbelief, fear and anger that a person has when they are told for the first time that they have the "C" word. The blend of film and animation is done brilliantly. The tragedy for writer / director Sarah Watt has come with her own diagnosis after the film wrapped - the Australian Film going audiences such as myself wishes her a speedy recovery so she can continue to provide us with powerful pieces of cinema such as "Look Both Ways".

There is no reason for a small budget to reduce the aims of a film production, but director Sarah Watt tries to pack too much into her filmic bag in Look Both Ways. Essentially, she just has one story to tell, and a sub-plot is always an excellent counterpoint, but Watt decides to touch on the lives of half a dozen people. The result is that none of their stories are fully developed, and in the absence of commanding central figures, the theme of death threatens to take over as the main character.

The main story, a budding romance between Meryl Lee (Justine Clarke) and Nick (William McInnes) needed more detail: we needed to get to know the characters better, but Watt does not seem to know them well enough to go further. They get introduced to each other, just as we get introduced to them, but we are left wanting to know much more.

It was revealing to learn in the DVD interview with Watt that the photo-montage sequences were assembled by another team altogether. They were effective, but somehow did not fit well with the director's style. The Waifs, and other Aussie pop singers were another intrusion.

Watt is a gifted film-maker, but she should study the art of story-telling, in particular the skill of peeling layers off characters to reveal their inner selves. Too many loose ends were left dangling at the end of this movie, and the pay-off photo-montage sequence was at best ambivalent, and ultimately unnecessary. This is a quirky, enjoyable film, flaws and all, and highly recommended.