Lantana (2001)

The relationships of four couples unravel after the discovery of a young woman's body in Lantana bush in suburban Sydney.

Director:

Ray Lawrence

Writers:

Andrew Bovell (screenplay), Andrew Bovell (play)

Stars:

Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Blake

36 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Leon
Rachael Blake	...	Jane
Kerry Armstrong	...	Sonja
Manu Bennett	...	Steve (as Jon Bennett)
Melissa Martinez	...	Lisa
Owen McKenna	...	Old Man in Pyjamas
Nicholas Cooper	...	Sam
Marc Dwyer	...	Dylan
Puven Pather	...	Drug Dealer
Lionel Tozer	...	Police Officer
Glenn Suter	...	Police Officer
Leah Purcell	...	Claudia
Barbara Hershey	...	Valerie
Natasha Guthrie	...	Young Girl
James Cullington	...	Man at Book Launch

Storyline

The intertwined stories of a loosely tied set of mostly emotionally damaged individuals in Sydney are told. Police detective Leon Zat and his wife Sonja Zat probably still love each other but have not stated to each other the problems that have invaded their marriage. Those problems not only affect their relationship, but also the way they parent their two teenage sons. Leon's single partner, Detective Claudia Weis, can probably most clearly see those problems, but is not equipped to be a good informal counselor to him in she considering the eye contact with another regular at the diner she frequents as being a somewhat committed relationship. A bundle of repressed emotions, Leon vents through mostly inappropriate acts of aggression, and having just embarked in an extramarital affair with Jane O'May, the recently separated woman in the same salsa dance class as him and Sonja. Jane initiated that separation from her husband, Pete O'May, in coming to the realization one day that she no ...

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Plot Keywords:

rear entry sex | adulterous wife | lust | scantily clad female | nylons | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes love isn't enough

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

When Sonja is in the car park, at about 54' at the bottom of the frame you can see the dolly track complete with sandbag, wedges and Mafer clamp.

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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

Referenced in On Location with 'The Irishman' (2006)

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Soundtracks

Te Busco
(1993)
Written by Víctor Víctor
Courtesy of Flamboyan Publishing / Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Performed by Celia Cruz
Courtesy of Rmm Records & Video Corp.

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Films [United States]

Country:

Australia Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lantana

Filming Locations:

Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$66,701, 16 December 2001

Gross USA:

$4,623,189

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,747,450

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