The Rage in Placid Lake (2003)

Director:

Tony McNamara

Writer:

Tony McNamara (written by)

Release Date:

28 August 2003 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Placid Lake isn't your usual rebel. He wants to work in insurance.

Plot:

An exuberant, sharply satirical comedy about two parentally neglected teenagers who find the courage to believe in themselves

Awards:

4 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Jordan Brooking	...	Young Placid
Ben Lee	...	Placid Lake
Rose Byrne	...	Gemma Taylor
Miranda Richardson	...	Sylvia Lake
Lucas Fraccaro	...	Bull (5 years old)
Cruise Moylan	...	Angus (5 years old)
Zan Cross	...	Lachie (5 years old)
Garry McDonald	...	Doug Lake
Eleeza Hooker	...	Young Gemma
Jesse Spence	...	Jenny
Simone Cullinan	...	Sharon
Socratis Otto	...	Bozo
Toby Schmitz	...	Bull
Nathaniel Dean	...	Lachie
Stephen James King	...	Angus

Runtime:

Australia:89 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Australia:M | UK:15 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Sydney Central Business District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Placid Lake: I try to find the positives in my experiences
Young Placid: [dressed in a frilly dress for his first day of school, and about to be pushed onto the playground by his hippie mother] Mummy, I *can't*.
Sylvia Lake: Darling, just remember you're challenging their pre-conceived notions of sexuality.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Getaway: Getaway to the Music (#16.36)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Naked

Amusing double critique

Amusing, interesting and not-so-subtle postmodern critique of Australia's consumerist-capitalist society is (almost) brilliantly countered by an innovative critique of the complete rejection of said. Richardson and McDonald do become a little tiring as Placid's hippie parents – their characters are given far too much screen-time for what little change, if any, we see in them. Singer-songwriter Ben Lee, best known for his hit album Breathing Tornados and his single Cigarettes Will Kill You, does well in a medium he never intended to broach, but the brilliant Byrne was perhaps cast below her abilities here in very much a supporting role; a problem that continued to repeat itself in her Australian films released in 2003. As a product, the film was never going to be a stunning box-office success, and that it was even released outside art-house cinemas is perhaps more a hopeful testament to Lee's pulling power than anything. On a more philosophical level, though, the film is a well-worked blend of postmodernist challenges, and the ‘solution' it offers (or which it doesn't) is, all in all, satisfying.