Lantana (2001)

Psychiatrist Valerie Somers disappears one night; Det. Leon Zat is called to investigate; his wife has been getting advice from Somers.

Director:

Ray Lawrence

Writers:

Andrew Bovell (play), Andrew Bovell (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey

35 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Detective Leon Zat
Geoffrey Rush	...	John Knox
Barbara Hershey	...	Dr. Valerie Somers
Kerry Armstrong	...	Sonja Zat
Rachael Blake	...	Jane O'May
Russell Dykstra	...	Michael
Daniela Farinacci	...	Paula D'Amato
Peter Phelps	...	Patrick Phelan
Leah Purcell	...	Detective Claudia Wiss
Glenn Robbins	...	Pete O'May
Manu Bennett	...	Steve Valdez (as Jon Bennett)
Melissa Martinez	...	Lisa
Owen McKenna	...	Old man in pyjamas
Nicholas Cooper	...	Sam Zat
Marc Dwyer	...	Dylan Zat

Storyline

Trust. A dead body in bracken. A cop cheats on his unhappy wife who, in secret, sees a psychiatrist whose own marriage is corroded by grief: she thinks her husband is having an affair with a gay patient of hers. The cop's lover, Jane, is recently separated, and her neighbors - a couple with children - include a muscular unemployed man. Late one night, the doctor skids off a back road, finds a call box, and tries in vain to reach her husband. She sees headlights and flags down the driver. Later that night, Jane sees her neighbor park his truck and throw something into the lantana in a vacant lot. It's a woman's shoe. Unraveling the mystery lays bare five couples.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | neighbor | secret | marriage | children | 

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Taglines:

It's tangled

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [us]

Country:

Australia Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2001 (Australia)

Also Known As:

A Floresta de Lantana

Filming Locations:

Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£92,566 (UK) (16 August 2002)

Gross:

£499,549 (UK) (30 August 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MBP (Germany), Jan Chapman Productions, Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anthony LaPaglia had to work with a dialect coach to regain his native Australian accent. He had lost it from years of working on American movies.

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Goofs

During the conversation between Leon and John on John's deck, the water level and position of the pitcher changes.

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Quotes

Leon Zat: I tell my wife everything.
John Knox: That suprises me.
Leon Zat: Why?
John Knox: Most men hold something back.

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Crazy Credits

Grateful acknowledgement of assistance to all our families

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Connections

References The Passion of Anna (1969)

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Soundtracks

"Respeta Mi Tambo"
(1997)
Written by Pablo Justiz
Ahi-Nama Music - Musica Unica Publishing
Licensed from Universal Music Publishing Pty. Ltd.
Performed by Los Naranjos
Courtesy of Ahi-Nama Music

User Reviews

One of the year's most compelling character studies. **** (out of four)

LANTANA (2001) **** (out of four)

"Lantana" does not embody a story like most movies; it isn't about anything in particular. It's a movie about characters. Not larger-than-life super heroes, but characters who succumb to temptation, cheat on their wives, doubt their spouses, make mistakes and suffer consequences. In other words, "Lantana" is about real people. Normal, imperfect people like all of us. Not that everyone behaves like the characters here, but few films capture transgression with such compassion and sympathy.

Set in Australia, a colorful pallet of characters paints a vivid, coherent psychological portrait of infidelity, deceit, and estrangement. At the center of the film is four couples, immersed in guilt and depravity for different reasons. Everybody has something to hide. The conflicts of these people illuminate the personal crisis of a police detective (Anthony LaPaglia) as he investigates the disappearance of a local woman.

Apart from the investigation, the couples have little connection with each other. They do have one thing in common, however, that none of them communicates with their loved ones. "Lantana" proves communication enforces commitment, but a lack thereof results in disaster. This sincere, uncompromising picture places the lack of communication at the center of family problems.

The film won various Australian Film Awards for its performances, screenplay, and direction by Ray Lawrence. Lawrence clearly intended the title-referring to a tropical shrub with beautiful flowers that hide dense, thorny undergrowth-to represent the characters' private lives hidden behind an outward appearance. He's got the wrong metaphor. These characters do not appear sunny on the inside, outside, front or back. They don't wear masks or attempt to cover their frowning states of mind. They are unhappy people, and the movie never pretends otherwise.

Those qualities make the characters absorbing. Instead of providing them with outlets and opportunities to hide their faults, the film pokes, prods, and starves them of their happiness until they reach a breaking point. For some, the breaking point results in an explosion of anger. For others, it's subtle and personal. "Lantana" investigates real people who deal with real situations and encounter real consequences.

None of the characters are model citizens, yet we care deeply about each of them. When someone cries, we feel sorry for them. When someone begs for forgiveness, we try to forgive them. When someone questions their spouse, we are concerned with both sides of the marriage. These people make big mistakes; the results of their mistakes are never certain. The movie does not neatly pull things together at the end. It doesn't allow the characters an easy way out. These characters must dig themselves out of their problems.

"Lantana" is one of the most compelling, involving films of the year. It's based on a play called "Speaking in Tongues" by Andrew Bovell, who also wrote the fluid screenplay. I want to see this play. If these characters feel so alive, so real, so tormented on screen, think of their power in person.