The second comedy in a row for the IndieWeb Movie Club, The Castle, is an Australian film from 1997: it tells the story of the Kerrigan family, happily living in a house located at the end of the Melbourne Airport runway, until a ‘compulsory acquisition’ notice from the local authorities prompts the father, Darryl, to look for a way to oppose the injunction and avoid losing ‘his castle’.
This one was much more my kind of comedy because of its quiet, understated humour.
I don’t know if this is a key prerogative of Australian cinema; I’m a bit more used to horror-thrillers, and I have had mixed experiences with comedies from those lands: I didn’t enjoy Crocodile Dundee, while (ages ago) I liked Muriel’s Wedding, another tale of a ‘simple’ person, ultimately rooting for her (I should rewatch that film: what a career Toni Collette has had!).
The Castle also seems to genuinely like its characters: granted, it makes fun of them for their simple life and attitudes (and most family members are one-dimensional caricatures), but in an affectionate manner that doesn’t feel too distant from the loving, encouraging way the main protagonist Darryl (Michael Caton) deals with the people that surround him.
I had fun with the film, despite a not-very-tight plot: a lot of repetition and a whole detour to a holiday location help it reach a feature-length running time, but the overall set-up reminded me of an extended episode from sit-com from the seventies or the eighties (a big family, some in-laws, the occasional foreign neighbour calling in), or a film based on a Saturday Night Live sketch.
It’s not surprising, then, to find out that this was the first film for the four screenwriters involved (Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy and Rob Sitch, who also directed), all coming from TV experiences.
The resolution itself feels a bit like an unsophisticated deus-ex-machina ploy: but, after all, such a plot device has worked since ancient Greece; and, maybe (though it might be a stretch), acknowledging this ‘cultural borrowing’ is the reason why the Kerrigans’ daughter, Tracy (played by Sophie Lee, who also was in Muriel’s Wedding), marries a guy of Greek origins (played by a 21-year-old Eric Bana, in his film debut).
All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience: a fun, heart-warming, feel-good, simple film, celebrating the stubborn dedication of an ‘ordinary family man’ in defending his rights in front of insensitive authorities and capitalism.
That feels quite topical, doesn’t it?
Plus, now I want to go and visit Bonnie Doon. After all, it’s just a six-and-a-half-hour drive from Lake Mungo!
Thanks to Zachary for hosting the IndieWeb Movie Club this month and making me learn about this film!