Jasper Jones (2017)

JASPER JONES is a coming of age story about Charlie Bucktin, a bookish boy of 14. On the night that Jasper Jones, the town's mixed race outcast shows him the dead body of young Laura ... See full summary »

Director:

Rachel Perkins

Writers:

Shaun Grant, Craig Silvey (story)

Stars:

Levi Miller, Kevin Long, Toni Collette

3 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Levi Miller	...	Charlie Bucktin
Kevin Long	...	Jeffrey Lu
Toni Collette	...	Ruth Bucktin
Aaron L. McGrath	...	Jasper Jones
Nandalie Campbell Killick	...	Laura Wishart
Dan Wyllie	...	Wes Bucktin
Matt Nable	...	Sarge
Wilson Moore	...	Warwick Trent
Luke Hewitt	...	Coach
Cooper van Grootel	...	Batsman
Jack Kilrain	...	Cricketer
Jesse Callaghan	...	Cricketer
Igor Sas	...	Howard Daglish
Angourie Rice	...	Eliza Wishart
Susan Prior	...	Gwyn Wishart

Storyline

JASPER JONES is a coming of age story about Charlie Bucktin, a bookish boy of 14. On the night that Jasper Jones, the town's mixed race outcast shows him the dead body of young Laura Wishart, Charlie's life is changed forever. Entrusted with this secret and believing Jasper to be innocent, Charlie embarks on a dangerous journey to find the true killer. Set over the scorching summer holidays of 1969, Charlie defeats the local racists, faces the breakup of his parents and falls head over heels in love as he discovers what it means to be truly courageous.

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Plot Keywords:

boyfriend girlfriend relationship | boy with glasses | missing child | missing sister | death of sister | 

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Taglines:

The iconic Australian best seller now a major most picture

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Madman Entertainment 2 [Australia] Madman Entertainment [Australia]

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 March 2017 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Джаспер Джонс

Filming Locations:

Pemberton, Western Australia, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Porchlight Films, Bunya Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Acclaimed Australian actors Ben Key and Eddy Westcott both have previously played cricket and have stated that Kevin Long is the best batsman they have seen, which saw Long called up to the Australian team shortly after.

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Goofs

When Charlie first jumps out his window to go with Jasper, he is barefoot and doesn't have any sandals on. Then when they arrive at the tree by the river, Jasper suddenly has sandals on.

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Connections

Featured in The Making of Jasper Jones (2017)

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Soundtracks

Atlas In Your Eye
Written by Dustin Tebbutt (Copyright Control)
Performed & Produced by Dustin Tebbutt
Courtesy of Eleven: a music company P/L
Licensed courtesy of Warner Music Australia Pty Limited

User Reviews

A mystery surrounding a girl's death.

An Australia's murder mystery set in a small town. The film was based on the novel of the same name. Starred by the next generation Aussie actors like Levi Miller and Angourie Rice. But the film was not what I had expected. Just okayish. Not at first glance I liked it, because I thought it was a little out of common sense, even from the kid's perspective. I don't blame the entire film, but the opening. Too intentional and right away jumped into the suspense.

This is a children's film, the story of teenagers, and a mystery surrounding the death of a girl. After the unconvinced start, not even the end brought any consolation. Though it could have been for just me. That's what I felt. So according to me, only the mid parts held the film for me to look for something in the later. All it had was the wonder characters and the storyline. The rest of the film failed to stretch with the best developments. Definitely a good tale for literature, but for a film, to witness everything on the visuals, it needed more detail. Only if it had depth, I would have found it a better film.

The story that happened in the holiday week that comes between the Christmas and the New Year. In a fictional Aussie town called Corrigan, a young Charlie was approached by Jasper in the middle of the night. Later he comes to know Jasper's girlfriend has been murdered. Now they are set to find who did it and why bofore the athorities do! The following days are crucial for both of them as the whole town is terrified by the incident. When the time comes to the truth, the secrets were revealed just before the film's end.

-xX] You're just like her, your mother. You're peas in a pod, you two. [Xx-

There was a little distraction like the Vietnam war, racism. All the above, the character Jasper Jones seemed an imagination of Charlie. Because of his secret appearance, but that did not last long. Yet the murder mystery always stayed top of the film topic. When the end revealed everything, that reminded me the films of 60-70 years ago. The timeline for this film too was in the same period, precisely 1969. The locations were awesome, the cinematography should be appreciated.

I thought the Jeffrey was an under-used or unrequired character, until the cricket match scene that's dedicated to him. Following it, what happened to his family was a nice flow of the story. Charlie's family too, the issue of the parents, crisis is their marriage. As I said, the film had ingredient, but did not cook properly. The reviewers, the film critics comparing it to some of the classics like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to 'Stand By Me'. But I would say, it is too late to come to get equal status of those films. It was just an above average, but if it came in the 80s or 90s, surely would have been a gem and changed the Australian filmdom.

Despite the film title, the story was narrated by Charlie, the one who developed an unexpected relation in the most extreme situation with Jasper Jones. Apart from one worst week of his life, he also finds his first love. A coming-of-age film, worth a watch, but no doubt that it should have better. Not sure if the majority would like it or dislike it, but it is once watchable film. Finally, it got nominated for the Australian Academy Awards for this year (2017) in six categories, sadly it had won nothing. I hope that should not be a reason for you to skip it!

6/10