Jindabyne is a profound art house crime/thriller/drama set entirely in an the isolated Australian town of Jindabyne, starring Laura Linney (Love Actually, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and Gabriel Byrne (Spider).
An Irishman (Bryne), living in Australia with his American wife (Linney), is on an annual fishing trip, with four friends, when they come across the murdered body of a young Aboriginal woman (Tatea Reilly). Having looked forward to their trip for so long, the friends decide to leave the woman alone and report her to the police once their trip is over. Much to the disgrace of their wives, the community and the Aboriginal tribe.
I'm going to try and review this without giving it all away, but this is another very interesting and unusual thriller in so many ways. For a start, the majority of the film focuses on Linney and Byrne's marriage and the young girl's murder acts as a sort of subplot. Secondly, the director, Ray Lawrence (who has only directed two other films in the last 22 years), filmed all of it in natural light IE no fake lighting was used throughout.
The script by Beatrix Christian, adapted from the short novel 'So Much Water So Close to Home', on which the film is based, is also written in an unusual way. For instance,, the film is chronologically told, yet none of the scenes are linked nearly all of the scenes (at least in the first half) are random anecdotes of Linney and Bryne's family life. One criticisms I'd give the script would be that although it is obvious Bryne is Irish and Linney is American, it is not explained as to why they are in Australia. Another criticism, in general, is that although we are supposed to believe that the men are so desperate to fish they are even willing to ignore a dead woman's body this is not emphasized enough in the acting, script of direction. Because of this, I didn't sympathize with Bryne's character as much as I could have done.
Laura Linney and Ed Byrne are pretty much the only two actors who are recognizable to international audiences, out of the very large cast. Both are brilliant in their roles, particularly Linney proving once again she is one of Hollywood's more overlooked actresses.
The film is worth seeing for so many reasons: brilliant acting from the entire ensemble cast, it's intriguing direction, unusual storyline and its accurate insight into the Aboriginal religious practices.
