bartersiobhan Reviews

Oranges and Sunshine (2010)

Very moving everyman story of loss and the search for our origins

[8/10 · 25 May 2011]

This is a story of the organised deportation to Australia of over 120,000 British children since the late 1890s until the 1960s. It is a must-see for people of our generation, if only to gain some insight into what some of our forebears had to endure.

Emily Watson - if she weren't such an accomplished actress - would make a fine counsellor/social worker. She shines in the lead role and the scene where she wakes up with breathing difficulties is very moving - she literally has the weight of all the people on that deported list on her compassionate heart. Hugo Weaving is deeply moving as the man who all his life wanted only to see his mother again. David Wenham's Len provides the only relief as the boy-made-good who finds his mum and begins a relationship with her.

Watch it and consider how lucky you are.

Elvis and Anabelle (2007)

Moving story of love conquering loss

[9/10 · 14 January 2010]

There is not much wrong with this film. It is very moving. I was touched to my core, weeping deeply, several times. For the most part the acting is spot on, and the plot is different. The cinematography is stunning; the location serene, if a tad morbid.

Elvis is a very deep, if troubled young man, of considerable talent. He works as a mortician at the family's funeral parlour, tending to his ailing father in the wake of his mother's suicide a decade earlier. Elvis' love for his father is the most touching you are likely to witness. He reads to him every night before bed. Elvis' father quite rightly worships the ground his son walks on. The plot revolves around a beauty queen Annabelle who is taken to their funeral parlour and the subsequent turn of events.

The simplicity yet authenticity of Elvis' life tantalises Annabelle whose background is all style over substance. In her parents, her shallow, attention-seeking, competitive mother vies with the perversion of her creepy, bourbon-swilling stepfather for who is the more repugnant. Annabelle coaxes Elvis on a journey of discovery, love and ultimately, hope. The plot takes a few turns and the ending is unexpected.

What makes this film for me is the depth and compassion of the three main characters. Joe Mantegna is superlative as Charlie, as is the riveting Max Minghella (God bless his father). Blake Lively also convinces. I was surprised, enthralled, thrilled, captivated, deeply moved; I wanted to stay. You will too.