Jindabyne (2006)

After four men on a fishing trip discover a dead body in the water, they choose to delay reporting it and continue fishing.

Director:

Ray Lawrence

Writers:

Beatrix Christian, Raymond Carver (short story "So Much Water So Close to Home")

Stars:

Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, John Howard

11 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Haywood	...	Gregory
Tatea Reilly	...	Susan
Laura Linney	...	Claire
Sean Rees-Wemyss	...	Tom
Gabriel Byrne	...	Stewart Kane
Deborra-Lee Furness	...	Jude
John Howard	...	Carl
Eva Lazzaro	...	Caylin-Calandria
Maya Daniels	...	Caylin-Calandria's Mother
Bob Baines	...	Doctor #1
Max Cullen	...	Terry
Stelios Yiakmis	...	Rocco
Simon Stone	...	Billy 'The Kid'
Victoria Allen	...	Girl at Garage
Leah Purcell	...	Carmel

Storyline

Jindabyne, in the southeast section of New South Wales, was moved to its current site from its original site upon the building of a hydroelectric dam, the resulting reservoir, Lake Jindabyne, which now sits atop the original townsite. Among its residents are a group of friends who socialize together: married Stewart and Claire, a service station owner/former race car driver and a pharmacist respectively, and their adolescent son Tommy; married Carl and Jude, who have been guardians to their adolescent granddaughter Caylin-Calandria, Tommy's friend and disruptive classmate, ever since her mother's passing; Rocco and his new aborigine girlfriend, Carmel, a teacher at Tommy and Caylin-Calandria's school; and young parents Billy and Elissa, Billy who works casually as a mechanic for Stewart. Despite Stewart and Claire loving each other, there has long been disharmony in their household. Claire left for eighteen months following Tommy's birth due to post-partum depression. Then, Stewart's ...

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | scene of the crime | lying on a bed | man wears eyeglasses | serial murder | 

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Taglines:

In Australia, the town of Jindabyne is about to face a moment of truth.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing images, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Irish Aboriginal

Release Date:

20 July 2006 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Duchy Jindabyne

Filming Locations:

Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$656,650 (Australia), 21 July 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,298, 29 April 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$399,879, 2 September 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

April Films,Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC),Red Chair Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 118 min (DVD censored)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 'P' plate that is taken by the murderer from the young girl's concealed vehicle, is one of Australia's provisional licence placards. A person who has just got their licence is on P plates for 3 years and have certain restrictions.

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Goofs

The men on the fishing trip must hike out to the spot that they fish at, but the electrician was able to drive right up to the river and dump the body.

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Quotes

Top Cop: We don't step over bodies in order to enjoy our leisure activities. You're a pack of bloody idiots. I'm ashamed of you. The whole town's ashamed of you.

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #15.30 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Streets of your town
Written by Grant McLennan (as G. McLennan) and Robert Forster (as R. Forster)
Performed by The Go-Betweens

User Reviews

Thought provoking but dull

I had read so many good reviews about this film, so just HAD to see it. Well about half an hour into it, I was bored to death and it didn't get any better.

Basic plot summary: young aboriginal girl gets raped and murdered and dumped in the local water system near a rural township. Four friends off on a fishing weekend in a secluded location, find the body. Instead of reporting it, one of the party ties the body up and they carry on with their holiday. They later report the find to the police and incur a backlash from the local and the aboriginal community. Each person and their spouse react differently and it is this character exploration that is central to the film's story.

It sounds good and original. However the pace was too slow and I felt nothing for the characters. Laura Linney's character meant well, but she was sickeningly self-righteous. There was also a very poisonous little girl who I found difficult to watch as her behaviour bordered on sociopathic. The only character I liked was Laura Linney's son.

My summary: slow, hard to watch and completely unsympathetic characters.

4/10