Picnic at Hanging Rock is a curious movie in my ways. The pacing is fairly slow, progressively building up to key moments within the film, while the relatively simple plot is essentially just a mystery with a few twists.
However, where the movie excels is in building and diffusing tension. For example, up until the girls disappear into the rock, there are a few hints that something bad, or unusual, will happen. Firstly, there are Miranda's cryptic comments to Sara about needing to find somebody else to love, Miranda's almost ashamed look downwards when Sara waves to her (as if she knows that she'll not be returning), the birds and the horses being startled when Miranda opens the gate and time seeming to stop at the rock. That, plus the eerie atmosphere and music, builds the tension quite nicely. The same thing happens later in the film, when Sara's reaction to Miranda's disappearance, Mrs Appleyard's increasingly abusive behaviour towards her and revelations about her troubled past let you know something unpleasant is about to happen.
The film also diffuses tension quite nicely. You can almost FEEL the tension among the students, teachers, townspeople and police after the disappearance of the girls and the pervading atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust makes the film more compelling. As the film progresses, tension affects these people in increasingly unpleasant ways.
Moreover, while the film only has a few key moments, these moments are exploited quite effectively to the point where they are indelibly etched upon my mind. Edith's blood-curdling scream when the girls disappear into the rock and Mrs Appleyard being in full mourning dress, with an accompanying death stare, after Sara kills herself.
The dialogue is both novel and quaint, as one would expect from a period piece set in 1900.
The characterisation is mixed. The girls are mostly fairly flat characters whom exist more to serve the plot than anything else. The mystique around Miranda and her cryptic comments and behaviour somewhat obscure the fact that we learn next to nothing about her and find it difficult to relate to her or the other girls individually. However, Sara and Albert are fairly well-developed characters whom are easy to sympathise with in light of their struggles. The contrast and interplay between Michael, the high-brow Englishman and the ocker Albert also adds colour to the film.
The cinematography is superb, with some evocative landscapes, some creative shooting angles (we never know what lures the girls into the rock, adding to the mystery) and some novel shooting techniques (placing bridal veil fabric over the lens to make the picnic's atmosphere seem more intoxicating). The film also looks very crisp and the costuming is well done.
The actors and actresses effectively serve the plot by performing their fairly limited roles quite well. The late Rachel Roberts in particular does very well portraying an otherwise tightly-coiled, disciplined woman who slowly cracks under pressure. John Jarratt also does a good job playing the every-man ocker. Weaver, Morse and McDonald are other reasonably well-known names.
Ultimately, Picnic at Hanging Rock is an intriguing film. I'm not sure I would call it a classic - at times the film's slow pacing does frustrate and the characterisation and plot are on the whole fairly thin. However, it masterfully uses tension to keep the interest and filming techniques to keep viewers watching. The actors and actress involved appear to understand the film's intent quite well and perform accordingly. On the whole, a comfortably above-average outing.
4/5 stars
However, where the movie excels is in building and diffusing tension. For example, up until the girls disappear into the rock, there are a few hints that something bad, or unusual, will happen. Firstly, there are Miranda's cryptic comments to Sara about needing to find somebody else to love, Miranda's almost ashamed look downwards when Sara waves to her (as if she knows that she'll not be returning), the birds and the horses being startled when Miranda opens the gate and time seeming to stop at the rock. That, plus the eerie atmosphere and music, builds the tension quite nicely. The same thing happens later in the film, when Sara's reaction to Miranda's disappearance, Mrs Appleyard's increasingly abusive behaviour towards her and revelations about her troubled past let you know something unpleasant is about to happen.
The film also diffuses tension quite nicely. You can almost FEEL the tension among the students, teachers, townspeople and police after the disappearance of the girls and the pervading atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust makes the film more compelling. As the film progresses, tension affects these people in increasingly unpleasant ways.
Moreover, while the film only has a few key moments, these moments are exploited quite effectively to the point where they are indelibly etched upon my mind. Edith's blood-curdling scream when the girls disappear into the rock and Mrs Appleyard being in full mourning dress, with an accompanying death stare, after Sara kills herself.
The dialogue is both novel and quaint, as one would expect from a period piece set in 1900.
The characterisation is mixed. The girls are mostly fairly flat characters whom exist more to serve the plot than anything else. The mystique around Miranda and her cryptic comments and behaviour somewhat obscure the fact that we learn next to nothing about her and find it difficult to relate to her or the other girls individually. However, Sara and Albert are fairly well-developed characters whom are easy to sympathise with in light of their struggles. The contrast and interplay between Michael, the high-brow Englishman and the ocker Albert also adds colour to the film.
The cinematography is superb, with some evocative landscapes, some creative shooting angles (we never know what lures the girls into the rock, adding to the mystery) and some novel shooting techniques (placing bridal veil fabric over the lens to make the picnic's atmosphere seem more intoxicating). The film also looks very crisp and the costuming is well done.
The actors and actresses effectively serve the plot by performing their fairly limited roles quite well. The late Rachel Roberts in particular does very well portraying an otherwise tightly-coiled, disciplined woman who slowly cracks under pressure. John Jarratt also does a good job playing the every-man ocker. Weaver, Morse and McDonald are other reasonably well-known names.
Ultimately, Picnic at Hanging Rock is an intriguing film. I'm not sure I would call it a classic - at times the film's slow pacing does frustrate and the characterisation and plot are on the whole fairly thin. However, it masterfully uses tension to keep the interest and filming techniques to keep viewers watching. The actors and actress involved appear to understand the film's intent quite well and perform accordingly. On the whole, a comfortably above-average outing.
4/5 stars