Flirting (1991)

Two freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.

Director:

John Duigan

Writer:

John Duigan

Stars:

Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, Nicole Kidman

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Noah Taylor	...	Danny Embling
Thandie Newton	...	Thandiwe Adjewa
Nicole Kidman	...	Nicola
Bartholomew Rose	...	'Gilby' Fryer
Felix Nobis	...	Jock Blair
Josh Picker	...	'Backa' Bourke
Kiri Paramore	...	'Slag' Green
Marc Aden Gray	...	Christopher Laidlaw (as Marc Gray)
Gregg Palmer	...	Colin Proudfoot
Joshua Marshall	...	'Cheddar' Fedderson
David Wieland	...	'Possum' Piper
Craig Black	...	'Pup' Pierdon
Les Hill	...	Greg Gilmore (as Leslie Hill)
Jeff Truman	...	Mr. Morris Cutts
Marshall Napier	...	Mr. Rupert Elloitt

Storyline

Danny has been sent to boarding school, in this sequel to The Year My Voice Broke. Against a backdrop of bullying and sadistic teachers Danny strikes up an affair with an African girl, Thandiwe, studying at a nearby girl's school. Their affair blossoms while everyone tries to stop it. Nicole Kidman also appears as a sexually repressed senior at Thandiwe's school.

---

Plot Keywords:

school | teacher | bullying | boarding school | male pubic hair | 

---

Taglines:

Here's to risks

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for scenes of teen sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Intended to be the Australian-born Nicole Kidman's farewell to Australian cinema; by the time the film went into production, she had received international acclaim for her part in Dead Calm (1989), and was being courted by US studios to appear in American productions. She wouldn't star in another Australian film for another decade, (Moulin Rouge! (2001)). As a result of Kidman's fame, she received top billing and was prominently featured in print advertising for the film, despite only appearing in a few scenes. Conversely, star Noah Taylor appeared in print ads only in silhouette.

---

Quotes

Danny Embling: I don't think fate is a creature or a lady... like some people say. It's a tide of events sweeping us along. But I'm not a fatalist, because I believe you can swim against it... and sometimes grasp the hands of the clock face... and steal a few precious minutes. If you don't... you're just cartwheeled along. Before you know it, the magic opportunities lost. And for the rest of your life... it lingers on in that part of your mind... which dreams the very best dreams... taunting and tantalizing ...

---

Connections

Follows The Year My Voice Broke (1987)

---

Soundtracks

Tutti Frutti
Written by Little Richard (as Penniman) / Dorothy La Bostrie (as La Bostrie) / Joe Lubin (as Lubin)
(ATV Music/EMI Music Publishing)

User Reviews

Superior coming of age from down under

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon.)

Don't let the title fool you. Although this is one of the sweetest movies you'll ever see, it is no beach blanket bingo for bimbos. This is an Aussie story of teen love set in 1965, heroic as only teens can play it. It is fun to watch, authentic and original at the same time, a coming of age flick in the English boarding school tradition of "Dead Poet's Society" (1989) and "A Separate Peace" (the novel, not the so-so movie). Noah Taylor stars as Danny Embling, an outsider who reads Sartre and Camus while satirizing the school's empty traditions. Across the lake is the girl's school where Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton), daughter of the Ugandan ambassador, is learning to meld with the Aussie pale faces, including a gifted pre-Hollywood Nicole Kidman.

Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor, as beautifully directed by John Duigan, are the reasons this film is so good. She has a fearless integrity about her that overcomes the prejudices of her school mates. He is wise and brave at a hundred and twenty pounds. She too is ultra sophisticated. She even met Sartre. This is a story about the love between two outsiders who, with their strength of character win over not only their classmates, but the audience as well. Imagine teenagers as witty and poised as say Eartha Kitt and Gore Vidal, and you get a hint of how it's played.

Nicole Kidman as the snobby Nicola Radcliffe (the name says it all) manages a subtle supporting role with a diamond-in-the-rough kind of charm and just the right touch of on-screen growth. The scene where she shares her stash of vodka (or perhaps a clear fruit liquor) with Thandiwe Adjewa is beautifully turned by Director John Duigan. Also excellent is the hotel scene where the adults are revealed as intrusive in the extreme. I like Danny Embling's line as he deadpans to a re-robing Thandiwe, "They're all funny, aren't they?" Yes, those adults are a little peculiar.

This is not unflawed, however. The ending, despite the rousing music, seemed a bland washout, leaving us with a sense of disappointment. And I thought the first love scene with the two "touching" was a little unreal. I mean he might have kissed her! There's a limit to how great a coming of age, boarding school movie can be, especially when the adults have only scarecrow parts. Nonetheless "Flirting" is a confectioner's delight, and one of the best coming of age movies I've ever seen.

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flirting

Filming Locations:

New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,125, 8 November 1992

Gross USA:

$2,415,396

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,415,396

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kennedy Miller Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1