Movie Review: High Tide
Ashley Sacks
CAST Jan Adele as: Bet
David Attrill as: Band member
Jan Boreham as: Mona
Charles Camilleri as: Band member
Robert Carlton as: Pinball boy
Kathryn Chalker as: Teacher
John Clayton as: Col
Judy Davis as: Lillie
Colin Friels as: Mick
Marc Gray as: Jason
Mark Hembrow as: Mechanic
Frankie J. Holden as: Lester
May Howlett as: Mick's mum
Claudia Karvan as: Ally
'Cowboy' Bob Purtell as: Joe
Barry Rugless as: Club manager
Tony Scanlon as: Mary
Emily Stocker as: Michelle
Monica Trapaga as: Tracey
Credits
Tri-Star and Hemdale Film Corp.
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
Produced by Sandra Levy.
Screenplay by Laura Jones.
Photographed by Russell Boyd.
Edited by Nicholas Beauman.
Music by Mary Moffiatt and Ricky Fataar.
Running time: 101 minutes.
Classified PG-13
Producer
Sandra Levy
Exec. Producer
Antony I. Ginnane
Joseph Skrzynski
Assoc. Producer
Greg Ricketson
Director
Gillian Armstrong
Writer
Laura Jones
Editor
Nicholas Beauman
Musical Composer
Ricky Fataar
Mark Moffiatt
Production Designer
Sally Campbell
Cinematographer
Russell Boyd
AWARDS
AFI Best Actress (1987) Judy Davis
Sydney Film Critic Circle Best Actress Judy Davis
National Society of Film Critics Best Actress Judy Davis
Nominated AFI Best Supporting Actress Jan Adele
BIBILIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS- INTERVIEWS WITH DIRECTOR
Armstrong, Gillian, "Gillian Armstrong Returns to Eden-Anna Grieve interviews Gillian Armstrong about latest film High Tide" in Cinema Papers no. 63, May 1987. Pgs. 30-33
Malone, Peter ed. 2001, Myth and Meaning: Australian Film Directors in Their Own Words, Currency Press, Sydney, pg.9.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS- REVIEWS
Film Quarterly, v42. No. 4, Summer 1989 pgs.21-26
Monthly Film Bulletin, v.55, no. 659, Dec. 1988, pg. 364
Time Out, no. 949, 26 Oct. 1988, pg. 31
Hollywood Reporter, v.300no. 16, 17 Dec. 1987, pg. 3,20
Cinema Papers, no. 65, Sept. 1987, pg. 45
Screen International, no. 601.23 May 1987, pg. 23
Screen International, no.570.18, Oct. 1986, pg. 60
Screen International, no. 566.20 Sept. 1986 pg.8
Encore, v.4, no. 22, 11 Dec. 1986 pgs. 40-41
Variety, 20 May, 1987, Pg. 44
O' Regan, Tom, 1996, Australian National Cinema, Routledge Publishing, New York
INTERNET BIBLIOGRAPHY
AusFilms
http://209.236.202.28/cf_tag_verity_detail.cfm?ID=HighTide%20%281988%29
IMDB
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0095305
Chicago Sun-Times
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1988/04/289357.html
E-online
http://www.eonline.com/Facts/Movies/0,60,7835,00.html
Washington Post
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1009622/reviews.php?critic=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=9313
TV-Guide Online
http://www.movie-db.com/movies/database/ShowMovie.asp?MI=345
Leonard Maltin
http://www.hollywood.com/maltin/h/hightide-1987.htm
Geocities
http://geocities.com/SoHo/study/5680/homte.html
Cinema.com
http://www.cinema.com/search/person_detail.phtml?ID=5102
SEARCH DETAILS
Finding information for Gillian Armstrong's movie High Tide has been quite difficult. I began my search by watching the movie itself. Just by looking at the movie box I was able to find information that was difficult to find elsewhere, for instance Judy Davis' award for best actress. From there I began to search for information on the Web. Although there was some information available I had quite a difficult time finding it. Most of the information that I was able to find ended up being movie reviews. Although these were helpful, nowhere was I able to find fundamental facts about High Tide. No site was able to give me statistics about its release dates or box office figures. I determined that there was so little information because the movie first came out in 1987, long before the Internet became an everyday commodity. Also, although this movie enjoyed relative success and even some international applause it was neither a blockbuster nor a cult film. The two main reasons that this film was able to get the interest it did were because of Judy Davis and Gillian Armstrong. However, checking out cites on both of these women did very little to help me in my search.
Next I went to the Murdoch Library and looked up information on both magazines Metro and Cinema Papers. I was able to find two articles in Cinema Papers. One of these was an interview with Armstrong, while the other was a review of the movie.
Next I went to the school database and looked for information in the "Film Index International". There were quite a few articles that I was able to find with the help of the database. However, most of the articles were reviews of the film. None of the articles in the journals and newspapers were able to help with the statistics that I was looking for either. It was quite interesting to read the different reviews of the movie, there were a few negative reviews, but overall they were quite positive. For example the review in Film Quarterly said, "The story is simple; it's the characters, what they feel and how they express themselves which are complex. The characters right down through the bit players are remarkably vivid (23)."
Finally, I went and reread the parts in Tom O'Regan's book Australian National Cinema that pertain to the movie High Tide. Although O' Regan does not give a review of the movie he does discuss in detail some of the major plots and characters of the movie. O'Regan sees several important plot lines running through the movie and compares these major themes in Australian Cinema as a whole.
Although it was difficult to find information on the film, I did find it remarkable that I could find as many reviews as I could. And that all Australian movies play an important role in making up the national cinema.
CRITICAL REVIEW OF FILM
Lilli (Judy Davis) is a back up singer for an Elvis impersonator. Lilli's character is well defined in the first scene with Lilli on stage with the two other back up singers and Elvis. As the others take the role seriously Lilli is not impressed rather she seems cynical and bored. The audience is not the only one who notices her disillusionment with her job and life. At the next gig she is fired. As Lilli tries to leave the little, bleak ocean town she realizes her car has broken down. She has little money and as a result she is trapped there. Lilli's character is a rambler who lives a solitary life drinking and travelling. Needless to say she is not thrilled at the prospect of being stuck in some small run down ocean town.
She rents a caravan in a caravan park and immediately gets too drunk to walk. A young teenage girl helps her to her caravan and there begins an interesting relationship between Lilli and the girl, Ally (Claudia Karvan). Ally is intrigued by such a hard independent woman and Lilli is attracted to Ally's adolescence. In the mean time Lilli has taken a job as a stripper in order to get the money to fix her car.
Soon however, Lilli runs into Bet (Jan Adele) and the pieces start to fit into place. Bet is Lilli's ex mother in law, which means that Ally is the daughter that Lilli left behind after the death of her husband. Bet on several occasions warns Lilli ferociously to stay away from Ally and at first Lilly complies. However, the two characters are drawn together and although Lilli tries to stay away she can't. Finally, Lilli's boyfriend of the moment (Colin Friels) reveals to Ally that Lilli is actually her mother. This causes a dilemma for the three women involved. Is Lilli ready to own up to her responsibilities in life? Is Ally ready for a relationship with the woman who deserted her for 16 years? Is Bet ready to let Lilli into Ally's life?
At the end of the movie all of these questions are resolved however not without a little suspense. The final scene is Lilli questioning her abilities to be a full time mother to a daughter she loves but doesn't really know.
The film's cinematography is very well done. The mood of the film is set by the location and darkness of the setting. All of the actors did a very good job of conveying the emotional state of the characters, especially Judy Davis and Claudia Karvan. However, I found the plot to be a little tedious and contrived. Overall for a small budget film the geography really helped set the mood and the film provided a lot of insight into a dreary ocean town, but the plot seemed a little too simple and straight forward to really hold my attention.
CRITICAL UPTAKE
At the time of its release in 1987 most of the reviews seemed fairly positive. Most of its success seems to be focused on the acting ability and the scenery rather than on the plot of the movie itself. Most of praise that the plot seemed to get was that it was simple. In fact the only negative reaction that I could find seems to be more a criticism of Armstrong's plots in general. An article in Cinema Papers in September of 1987 says that all of Armstrong's characters are about independent women with unattractive career choices and trivial relationships with men. However, it seems that most of the reviewers were most impressed with Russell Boyd's cinematography. The darkness of the scenery and run down shots of the beach town really set the scene for the internal loneliness that most of the characters, especially Lilli, seem to be feeling. Even Armstrong herself said in an interview with Anna Grieve for Cinema Papers that she wanted contrast man made ugliness with natural beauty.
Internationally the film probably got attention because of how well known Judy Davis was and because Armstrong's last film had been an American movie (Mrs. Soffel). The reviews in the states were decent. Most of the reviewers gave the movie two and a half to three stars. Again they seemed to like the strength of the characters rather than focusing on the plot of the movie. This film did make it overseas, which does show that even in the late 1980's the film industry was becoming more international. Films were shown overseas because their directors and actors were well known all over the world. The success of this movie is questionable. Although both Judy Davis and Jan Adele received awards for the film and overall the national feeling towards it was optimistic. It was not an overall success elsewhere in the world. And it seems to be a film that has pretty much been forgotten today.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF PRODUCTION AND RELEASE
The circumstances surrounding the film were that Armstrong wanted to make a small budget Australian film. She had recently finished making her American film Mrs. Soffel and had also recently had a baby. The story was developed by Sandra Levy, the producer, Laura Jones, the writer and by Gillian Armstrong, the director. They had all previously worked together on a film Clean Straw for Nothing which had never been made because it was too expensive. They sat down and wrote the script together, at first Lilli's character had been a man, but that was eventually changed. Judy Davis also worked on the script and helped develop the characters as well. Armstrong says that the film wasn't about money, rather it was something that they really cared about and wanted to see completed well (Grieve). The Production Company Hemdale released it overseas and was sensitive about treating it as a small picture, which is what Armstrong, wanted.
RESUME OF CAST ANDCREDITS
The following movies are a list of Armstrong's directing accomplishments. Oscar And Lucinda (1997), Not Fourteen Again (1996), Last Days Of Chez Nous, The (1992), Bingo, Bridesmaids And Braces (1988), HighTide (1988), Mrs. Soffel (1984), (1982), Fourteen's Good Eighteen's Better (1981), My Brilliant Career (1979), Clean Straw For Nothing (1978), Smokes And Lollies (1977), Singer And The Dancer, The (1976), One Hundred A Day (1973), Satdee Night (1973)
Actress Judy Davis has since been in a number of very accomplished movies …high rolling, my brilliant career, winter of our dreams, hoodwink, heatwave, the final option, a passage to India, kangaroo, hightide, Georgia, Alice, naked lunch, impromptu, Barton fink, where angels fear to tread, on my own, husbands and wives, the ref, the new age, dark blood, children of the revolution, blood and wine, absolute power, deconstructing harry, celebrity, gaudi afternoon
*High HighTide was Jan Adele's only film. Cinematographer Russell Boyd has continued to be successful in the film industry. His most recent films include American Outlaws (2001), Company Man (2000), Dr. Dolittle (1998), Liar, Liar (1997), and Tin Cup (1996)
POSITION OF AUSTRALIAN FILM AND VALUE
The movie High Tide is important to Australian cinema in many ways. First it shows that during the 1980's it was socially acceptable to make a small budget movie with no huge studio or tons of advertisements. Directors were able to write a film with the producer and writer, get well-known actors to play in it and generally have it be a success. This is definitely a quality that is unique to Australian cinema. That type of production would be virtually impossible to do in the United States. Although that characteristic in uniquely Australian it is very easy to see many characteristics of international cinema as well. Several critics discussed some aspects of the movie as being very American. "It is more than a little odd seeing these Australians living in this cool, green paradise by the sea have so thoroughly assimilated American tastes and attitudes (Film Quarterly, 23)"
It seems that in the midst of this being an Australian film with some American qualities the true nature of this film arises. Although much of the plot is seen as mundane there are several attributes that make this film a prestige film as well. The cinematography is very characteristic of a prestige or festival film while the characters and most definitely the plot can be seen as mundane. However, these characteristics helped to give High Tide the international success that it enjoyed.
MEDIUM SIZE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM
As discussed above the film High Tide has several international qualities. However, it is still an Australian film that it falls into the category of being a medium sized English language cinema. This is a difficult place for a national cinema to be because it must compete with film industries such as Hollywood. Hollywood has such a monopoly on the audiences, finances and genres of film today that medium sized English language cinemas need to find their own niche in order to survive. Australian Hollywood cinema is a much smaller scale cinema and therefore cannot compete completely with Hollywood. Therefore it needs to be similar enough to American films to get people attentions but different enough so that they are not overlooked by the movie going audience. O' Regan uses the term 'antipodal' to describe Australian cinema being similar to Hollywood, yet different enough to remain distinct.
High Tide manages to do this by having a plot that is not totally original but using distinctive characters and cinematography in order to remain different. The differences in this film make it quirky, while the similarities drew audiences. The quirkiness of this film can also be seen as similar to European styles of film. As Monthly Film Bulletin says "Armstrong's film shares with much of Australian cinema a sense of being caught between the mythic style, the market calculations demanded by Hollywood, and a more reflective European tradition (Monthly Film Bulletin, 364). Overall High Tide says a lot about the internationalization of Australian films even in the late 1980's. Both the lead actress and the director had made movies in the United States and have continued to do so. Although this does make Australian movies less Australian, it also gives Australian qualities to movies made over seas. In the end it is almost impossible to stop the commercial movie from becoming a big part of Australians medium sized English language cinema, but even still Australian movies have continued to have a quality that remained uniquely Australian. as seen in High Tide
REFERENCES
Cinema Papers, no. 65, Sept. 1987, pg. 45
Cinema Papers, no. 63 May, 198, pg. 30-33. (Anna Grieve)
Film Quarterly, v42. No. 4, Summer 1989 pgs.21-26
Monthly Film Bulletin, v.55, no. 659, Dec. 1988, pg. 364