Last Cab To Darwin

This review may contain spoilers!

Quite a powerful Australian film that's well worth a watch! I would give Last Cab To Darwin a 7.5/10.

I really appreciate a good road trip film if it's written well, which this film certainly is. Dealing with a central protagonist who wants to be a participant in the use of euthanasia and drives across country to do this was really interesting. Obviously it's a heavy subject and it's treated really respectfully but there is an even greater treatment of Aboriginal characters and the difficulties that the Aboriginal people of Australia have to deal with. The cinematography is quite simplistic but the angles that the shots are taken are quite creative. The soundtrack and score for this film feels very natural; it works so well, not just in tandem with the story, but in a really clear cut road trip vibe.

John Howard, David Field and Alan Dukes, who played Simmo, Dougie and Col respectively, were very entertaining as some rather generic workers' club Aussie 'blokes'; I liked that we see these guys move beyond their prejudice and do something nice for Polly by the end of the film. Emma Hamilton, who played Julie, gave a very genuine performance; I liked that she played such a nice character with such good chemistry between Caton and Smith. Michael Caton, who played Rex, was a fantastic lead; his gruff persona slowly caved away to reveal a role with incredible depth. Ningali Lawford, who played Polly, was quite an erratic performance; her wild displays of emotion really paid off considering the fantastic subplot between her and Caton.

However the best performance of the film came from Mark Coles Smith, who played Tilly. Smith was wonderfully comedic, in fact when he was introduced he came across as a breath of fresh air to the plot. The Aboriginal element of his character was really well portrayed and not necessarily in a negative aspect; but in a way that shows some of the real struggles behind what racism and less opportunities for Aborigines in Australia results in. Furthermore Smith has a fantastic relationship with Caton and Hamilton, he's always dealing his dialogue against them in such a great way. Finally his character development is one of the best in the film, I really enjoyed watching him grow in his role..

The film's pacing drags out a bit, particularly in the middle; the content is great but the height of the drama really falls away. I also thought that the film's editing was rather bland and dominated by rather basic cutting.

Jacki Weaver, who played Dr. Farmer, gave a really wooden performance; it was some really monotone acting.