Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Anthony LaPaglia | ... | Leon | |
Rachael Blake | ... | Jane | |
Kerry Armstrong | ... | Sonja | |
Manu Bennett | ... | Steve (as Jon Bennett) | |
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Melissa Martinez | ... | Lisa |
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Owen McKenna | ... | Old Man in Pyjamas |
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Nicholas Cooper | ... | Sam |
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Marc Dwyer | ... | Dylan |
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Puven Pather | ... | Drug Dealer |
Lionel Tozer | ... | Police Officer | |
Glenn Suter | ... | Police Officer | |
Leah Purcell | ... | Claudia | |
Barbara Hershey | ... | Valerie | |
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Natasha Guthrie | ... | Young Girl |
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James Cullington | ... | Man at Book Launch |
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 ... Written by Huggo
"Lantana" is one of those rare films which which transcends entertainment with meaningful messages, however subliminal, while avoiding the dumbing-down, flocking, hype, titillation, and other excesses of the usual Tinseltown product and relying solely on good story telling. The film uses the nonlinear Magnoia-esque jigsaw puzzle approach showing a piece of each player one at a time while methodically completing the final puzzle picture. Though the film involves a cop, a shrink, a missing woman, infidelity, adultery, grief, suspicion, etc., "Lantana" isn't about any of these things; a fact which is made clear in the end when the final puzzle piece is dropped into place. A must see for mature realists into serious drama.