| Lantana |
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| Rating: Very Good Distributor: Lions Gate Films Release Date: December 14th, 2001 (limited), wider in the following months Running Length: 2 hours MPAA Rating: R Genre: Drama Director: Ray Lawrence Cast: Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Russell Dykstra, and Daniela Farinacci. |
| Plot: Detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) is in a confused time in his life. He is married and has children, but decides to engage in an affair with another woman. He meets this woman at a Latin dance class that was meant rekindle the passion in his marriage. Meanwhile, another couple is having difficulty with their marriage. A psychiatrist and her husband lost a child years back and struggle to communicate. When the psychiatrist disappears Detective Zat is called on the case. However. Mr. Zat is not in prime mental condition, and he is sloppy when working to solve cases. The time comes for Mr. Zat to to reevaluate his life and attempt to regain his wife's trust. |
| Critique: Lantana is an engrossing film with fascinating characters. Andrew Bovell's script is sharp and intelligent. The plot unfolds slowly, revealing a plethora of interesting personalities and complex situations. The human interaction in this film is very well conceived and well written. Anthony LaPaglia does a wonderful job in the lead role; he shows the pain and confusion of his character. Every member of the cast delivers a superb performance, and one can see sincerity in the eyes of all the actors. Ray Lawrence lets his film move at a leisurely pace, and allows the audience to see deep into these characters. His direction is strong and confident. Lantana is a police mystery on the surface, but truly it is a character drama. Primarily it is about Anthony LaPaglia's detective, but it also explores all the supporting characters thoroughly. There is an impressive amount of character development, thanks to writer Bovell and terrific performances by the actors. Indeed, this drama strains to be a character drama to such an extent that the impact is sometimes forced. At times Lantana appears to be a soap opera because of the force that it probes its characters and in the way it reveals their conflicts. But Lantana has much more depth and sophistication than any soap opera could have. It is a film of high quality and sincere emotions. Lantana is an eloquent character study. Director Ray Lawrence and writer Andrew Bovell create an intriguing drama. I highly recommend this fascinating motion picture. review by supernothingman |
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