CNS Movie Review: Jindabyne

Jindabyne

By Nathan Hull
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Jindabyne" (Sony Classics) is a meaty morality play based upon a renowned Raymond Carver short story, "So Much Water, So Close to Home."

Already dramatized as part of Robert Altman's 1993 film "Short Cuts," here the action has been reset from the Pacific Northwest to the stunning Australian Snowy Mountains, which makes possible the ever-present visual allegory of man suspended between the heavenly rising spirals of the summits and the dangerous undertows of the lakes and rivers.

Stewart (Gabriel Byrne) is an Irishman living in the rural town of Jindabyne with his American wife, Claire (Laura Linney), and their small son. While on a yearly fishing trip with his three buddies, Stewart discovers the body of a young woman floating in a river. (We had seen her about to be killed by an ornery trucker in the film's opening scenes.)

Since they are deep in the wilderness and miles from the nearest road, the four don't report their tragic find immediately, but after recovering from their intense shock and mourning her in their fashion, they decide to continue with their fishing expedition.

When they finally get back to civilization and call the police, they are perplexed when they are met with stunned disbelief and ostracism from their wives, from their community and from the press. Stewart in particular is forced to re-evaluate his conscience in light of his failure to perform his good Samaritan duties when Claire becomes engrossed in a spiritual quest to understand her husband's moral callousness.

Thus, on one level, the film becomes a striking demonstration of mankind's cross-cultural belief in the sanctity of the human body even after death. As a grieving Aboriginal relative of the deceased girl observes, "Dead is not dead." The four men have violated an ancient code and are forced to pay a price for their transgression.

While such a shocking story might have been merely a sensational melodrama in lesser hands, "Jindabyne" triumphs as a character study because of its beautifully realistic, almost painfully honest performances led by Byrne and Linney and extending throughout the largely Australian cast.

Director Ray Lawrence uses his actors to full advantage as he crafts a gritty exploration of the division between his female and male characters' reactions to the incident. Claire argues, "She needed your help!" Byrne's face is a marvel of pain and incomprehension as he reasons, "But she was dead." These two actors take us on an unflinching spiritual journey about taking responsibility even for a stranger who is not part of one's own nuclear, religious or even ethnic families.

This search for truth extends to all the film's elements. From a brilliant adaptation by Beatrix Christian to the sweeping cinematography shot only in natural light, "Jindabyne" proves that simple sometimes really is best when telling a story of such basic human morality.

This film contains murder (not shown), several disturbing images of a female cadaver with upper nudity, a realistic fistfight with blood, a dead pet, rough and crude language and profanity, sexual language and groping, breast-feeding, discussion of abortion, discreetly depicted urination, alcohol use and domestic discord. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Hull is a guest reviewer for the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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