Brilliant Lies (1996)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Richard Franklin

Writers:

Peter Fitzpatrick (written by)
Richard Franklin (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The battle of the sexes is now all out war. To survive, you must tell Brilliant Lies

Plot:

Susy Conner accuses former employer, Gary Fitzgerald, of harassment and unfair dismissal for failing to comply with his sexual demands...

Plot Keywords:

Male Chauvinism | Personality Conflict | Father Daughter Relationship | Money | Incest

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Gia Carides	...	Susy Connor
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Gary Fitzgerald
Zoe Carides	...	Katy Connor
Ray Barrett	...	Brian Connor
Michael Veitch	...	Paul Connor
Catherine Wilkin	...	Marion Lee
Neil Melville	...	Vince
Jennifer Jarman-Walker	...	Ruth Miller
Grant Tilly	...	Steve Lovett
Beverley Dunn	...	President
Brad Lindsay	...	Registrar
Barry Friedlander	...	Mr. Burton
Iain Murton	...	Mr. Hall
Tim Elston	...	Young Brian
Natalie Gauci	...	Young Katy (as Natalie Gauchi)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and language.

Runtime:

94 min | USA:88 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Cinevex)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Bayside Pictures

Quotes:

Vince: I am very upset at being dragged in here, Gary. We are men of substantial standing and I ...
Katy Conner: Substantial standing? Well, what are you trying to say? That two important men like you find it beneath your dignity to be called to account for a minor little thing like seven months of viscious sexual persecution?

Soundtrack:

SOMEWHERE TO BEGIN

Very cliched, flat drama

Very cliched, flat drama shows all its stagy origins while making you wonder how it ever hung together as a theatrical piece - nothing is subtle or implied; it all sits out in the open, almost instantly superficial and unnuanced (despite the ambiguity surrounding the ultimate truth of the case), and shot in a flat way that does nothing to elevate it. Carides' performance is hard to read, which in part is deliberate but in this context ultimately leaves you out in limbo; LaPaglia's role is largely reactive; Barrett is just awful (although awful in a way so common in Australian movies that it may - shudder the thought - be quite realistic) as the father, and the movie's echoes of Oleanna (in the issue of who's telling the truth, the overall staginess, and in the feeling that she may be crazy or unreasonable) are unhelpful in that they expose the unelevated language and general clunkiness of this version, to its considerable detriment. The film certainly doesn't contribute anything to the cinema of sexual politics (unless it be the modest benefit of an "Australian perspective").