Even with a high-toned cast and initially intriguing premise, this one still eventually becomes a Down Under downer.
“Jindabyne” is named for a spiritually unsettled small town on the edge of the outback. It features the respected Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne plus a number of fine Aussie actors unknown here in a low-key piece that deals realistically with a thriller’s high concept not unlike Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me” (1986). As based on Raymond Carver’s short story “So Much Water So Close to Home,” it’s a well-intended, attractively lensed and at least occasionally compelling drama.
But the thing ultimately comes off as an earnest acting showcase with characters even more annoying than they are complex. And director Ray Lawrence and screenwriter Beatrix Christian fail to make the case that these characters would react as they do in order to justify the provocative story setup.
To wit: Four normal white working-class guys are on their big annual fishing trip at a picturesque, remote mountain-lake setting. On the first day, they discover the nude corpse of a murdered young aborigine woman floating there. But instead of immediately rushing back into cell phone range and reporting the discovery, gas station owner Stewart Kane (Byrne) tethers the dead body to a bush and encourages the party to continue their outing uninterrupted for two more days before calling in the crime.
Stewart’s already troubled wife Claire (Laura Linney), a previous victim of a debilitating case of postpartum depression, has just found out that she is pregnant again. Now she must deal with her husband’s ethical transgression, his entrenched denial of its gravity and an accompanying media storm to boot. Accusations of racism and a morbid sexual titillation accompany events as the victim’s grieving family underscores the inhumanity of the act.
But Claire is such a pitifully unlikable creature that it’s hard to side with her on the moral high ground. And the script never supports how four otherwise diligent and mature men would have ever been so irresponsibly callous in the first place. Meanwhile, a rambling and inconclusive subplot follows the girl’s killer, a smarmy old man whose persona and motivations are never clarified.
So while “Jindabyne” is indeed a distinctive place, you just might not want to go there.
‘Jindabyne’
2/5 stars
Stars: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne
