Whose idea it was to cast Rhys Ifans as an Australian? Apart from Danny's cringeworthy accent and the implausible motivations of the main characters, the plot was full of holes.
How is it that a bearded man arrives in a small country town, has his photo plastered all over the media as the 'balloon man', and yet not one single person recognises him? Why does he wholeheartedly support some dopey local politician, only to turn on him at the last minute for some completely unbeknown reason? The girl he falls for is so completely neurotic that we can see he's in for a life of misery, yet he seems hell-bent on spending the rest of his days with her. In the middle of all this, some strange character who looks like Oscar Wilde's gay lover ends up being a nude life-model for a bunch of slavering housewives - where did that come from?
Character development? Interesting dialogue? This film had none of that. But, come to think of it, there was ONE redeeming quality: I hardly recognised any of the cast, apart from Rhys and Miranda Otto. At least this was a departure from the normal practice of filling the cast with the same tired old ocker hacks that have featured in every film and TV series ever produced in this country.
Very disappointing. Rhys, stick to your Welsh accent, it's so much better. 3/10
