Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

yajji Lantana is less about solving a mystery and more about the ensuing revelation in the light of that recent mystery, however a clever marketing campaign would have you thinking otherwise. Granted, it is easy to bill this 2002 Australian drama as a thriller, but those who expect such a film may be disappointed by a relatively slow-burning plot and moderately paced character study. The beginning of Lantana is not entirely original. A woman's body is revealed among a shrub, and the metaphor for the menace lurking beneath a relatively unassuming and benign surface is neatly established. We saw this years before with David Lynch's Blue Velvet and so it doesn't feel completely revelatory or engrossing. From this moment, you'd be forgiven for thinking this film will turn into an intricate, tense and gripping edge of your seat thriller. It is still those things, but in a different way. Sydney cop, played brilliantly by Aussie export Anthony LaPaglia, is having an affair with Jane, and deceiving his wife Sonja, whose intuition can sense something is not right with her husband. Jane has left her husband, Pete, and lives with her friend Paula, who has a humble yet satisfying marriage to Nik. Sonja is seeing psychiatrist Valerie Somers, whose marriage is also showing cracks. One of Sonja's other clients is Patrick, who is engaging in his own form of deceit, by sleeping with a married man. Valerie's insecurity with her marriage leads her to believe that the very man Patrick is sleeping with is her own husband. So begins a web of interconnections, masterfully established by Australian director Ray Lawrence. A story with this many closely linked characters could begin to feel chaotic and even messy, but Lawrence has a way of handling these relationships that feels organic and natural. We never lose our focus on who is related to who either, which can be very with ensemble stories of interlocking lives. The success in creating a series of connections brings to mind Robert Altman's Short Cuts and Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia. Perhaps one of the biggest attributions to Lantana's success is the performances. Everyone here is at their best, particularly LaPaglia, whose extramarital affair cannot combat or even alleviate his own personal dissatisfaction and existential crisis. Even in the throes of passion with his lover, he loses his temper after a bout of chest pain. Nothing is enjoyable for this man anymore. Kerry Armstrong, who plays his wife, is equally impressive. She suspects something is wrong, and we see that doubt linger in her eyes every time she's on screen. Even when she comes into contact with her husband's mistress, seemingly oblivious, at a dance club, we get the sense she knows more than she conveys. That's the beauty of acting... a feeling is communicated, without every really being scripted. Armstrong has the ability to read in between the lines and does her character a wonderful justice. The supporting cast, with a surprise appearance from American actress Barbara Hershey, and Australian luminary Geoffrey Rush, do not miss a beat. Hershey's frantic, barely there sanity is almost palpable, and Rush's aloofness is unnerving, suggesting something ulterior. Lantana reminds me of a great time in Australian cinema, when risks were still being taken and interest in thoughtful indigenous film was still appealing to the Australian film-goer. An emphasis on box office numbers and commerce has diluted the craft of Australian film in recent times, and we get a lot of by-the-numbers "feel good" flicks about animals. This is not a problem, but when it's the only thing that is heavily marketed, people lose sight of real art. Lantana is just that, a complicated and nuanced piece of cinema. This one comes highly recommended.

filmjournal-97579 This is a great Aussie film! A very strong, emotionally demanding story of love and trust and longing, set in what seems to be a suburb out of Sydney. Supposedly a suspense thriller, Lantana is in fact a psychological drama about several middle-aged couples whose paths cross, and who are experiencing various degrees of marital and family problems. These interrelated stories form a credible plot that skillfully examines the emotional havoc and pitfalls experienced by many people who are in their forties-fifties, and which at the same time provides an entertaining mystery. The acting is superb, particularly Anthony LaPaglia who portrays a policeman, a complex man who is having an affair amidst his mid-life crisis. All of the characters are believable and fully fleshed out. The screenplay is beautifully written; the direction and the cinematography are superb. More than happy to give it 8 stars and recommend it.

HalBanksy This film surprised me with it's subtle approach to the exploration of love and monogamy. People interact with each other in surprising (unrealistic) ways, leading to some very tense scenes. The acting performances are mostly very good, particularly from the female characters. However, I would have liked the 'twist' ending surrounding the fate of Valerie, to better explain how the characters will cope moving forward. The overall theme is not exactly original - Lots of characters crossing paths and influencing each others emotional journeys (often without knowing.) But Lantana is definitely one of the better examples of this well-tried template.

Robert_90 I find it rather ironic that in the past six months I've been writing reviews on this site, I haven't reviewed an Australian film. Lantana is the first one I've seen since I started and it was also quite an interesting film, so it gets a review.Lantana (so named after a plant that features prominently in the film's Sydney setting) is half mystery, half ensemble drama. It opens with the slow revealing of a dead woman caught up in a bunch of bushes, before progressing on to the main stories.The first half of the film sets up each of the dozen or so main characters: the apparent protagonist is detective Leon (Anthony LaPaglia). Although he's married to Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), he has an affair with Jane (Rachael Blake), who's currently separated from her own husband Peter (Glenn Robbins). Sonja suspects Leon's affair and confides in renowned therapist Valerie Somers (Barbara Hershey). Valerie is herself having a personal crisis or two, dealing with her emotionally distant husband John (Geoffrey Rush) and the unnerving revelations of one client, a gay man named Patrick (Peter Phelps). There are more sub-plots and characters that interweave in the lives of these characters on the edge, but those are the ones that truly drive the film.The second half of the film begins when it's revealed that Valerie has disappeared. Since several characters have some connection to her, it ramps up the tension between each character to breaking point.Handling a movie with multiple sub-plots is always difficult. You only ever hear about it if the makers get it absolutely right. Lantana managed to get it right, juggling each sub-plot smoothly. The film lasts for about two hours (roughly an hour less than films of a similar breed like Magnolia or Short Cuts) and it does not drag at all. It even feature a couple of mysteries outside of the main "disappearance" arc (the most obvious ones including "Who has Patrick been sleeping with?" and "What does Sonja say at the end of the therapy session?") Visually speaking, the film is brilliant. The quality see-saws from grainy to polished in such a manner that it works. The acting (comprised of several well-known Australian actors, including a surprisingly serious turn by Robbins) is top-notch. Some moments may be over-the-top, but overall it's done well and with considerable restraint. I don't remember being too impressed with the score, but I'd figure that if it was good I'd remember it.Lantana may not be the most original of films. As I outlined earlier, it's very similar to Short Cuts and Magnolia in terms of narrative, and the strength of the disappearance mystery may seem about as strong to a modern audience as the plot of the average CSI episode. However, as a whole the film works out fine. It proves to be a complex, thought-provoking meditation on the lives of overly human people that aren't necessarily bad, but just struggle to try and stay good even in the face of such extreme adversity.