AUSTRALIAN CINEMA (MED 231)
ASSIGNMENT 2 – Three Dollars (2005)
By Trent Pattison 30284612
FILM DETAILS
Runtime: 118 min
Country: Australia
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Certification: Australia:M
PART ONE
LIST OF PRINCIPAL CAST AND CREW
Director Robert Connolly
Writing Elliot Perlman (novel Three Dollars)
Robert Conolly (screenplay)
Elliot Perlman (screenplay)
Producer John Maynard
Production Companies Films Finance Corporation Australia (FFC)
Premium Movie Partnership
Footprint Films
Fandango
Arenafilm
Cinematography Tristan Milani ACS
Original Music Alan John
Sound Design Sam Petty
Film Editing Nick Meyers
Casting Jane Norris
Mullinars Consultants
CAST
David Wenham .... Eddie Harnovey
Frances O'Connor .... Tanya Harnovey
Sarah Wynter .... Amanda
Robert Menzies .... Nick
David Roberts .... Gerard
Nicole Harbout .... Kate
Joanna Hunt-Prokhovnik .... Abby Harnovey
John Flaus .... Old Man Williamson
Terry Norris .... Alfred Price
Julia Blake .... Tanya's Mother
RELEASE DATES BUDGET
AUS April 21 2005 (cinema) AU$3,000,000
Video Release – 15th of February 2006
BOX OFFICE FIGURES
Opening Weekend: $169,076 (AUS), 21st April 2005.
Gross: $1,371,447
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF INTERVIEWS
Three Dollars, 2005, dir. Robert Connolly (Bonus disk): David Wenham & Sarah Wynter
Robert Connolly
http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1348699.htm
http://www.infilm.com.au/features/robert_connolly/index.htm
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF REVIEWS
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Reviews/A-good-marriage-dogged-by-bad-luck/2005/04/20/1113854257296.html
http://gallery.discoverymedia.com.au/artzinePub/story.asp?id=282§ion=FilmReviews
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/Three-Dollars/2005/04/20/1113854255779.html
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s1351542.htm
http://www.stateart.com.au/sota/reviews/default.asp?fid=3408
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391493/
DETAILS OF ONLINE PRESENCE IN THE WEB LITERATURE
Because the movie is quite new it was pretty much impossible to find any solid hardcopy literature, namely books, which included Three Dollars. For this reason the internet was my best source for information. I found many unofficial web logs that had personal opinions and discussions of the film however the best information I found was from official and authoritative websites. These web sites included the review section of both the ABC movie show and the review section of triple J radio station website. This was very useful because both reviews complemented each other in their types of reviewers and target audiences. Examining these reviews gave me a more balanced idea of public opinion on the film.
The film was also of course present on many websites that contained quantitative information such as facts and figures regarding the films release history and financial success. Regarding details on certain cast members and film makers I found the very popular (http://us.imbd.org ) a very good website to help gain a history of those involved so that I could see where this work lay in relation to their other works.
Of course there were numerous reviews on the internet however a large number of them were just digital versions of reviews in other mediums such newspaper, television, and radio. I was quite pleased with how easily I could find information and reviews on Three Dollars by simply typing the name of the film into a Google search. At times there was almost too much information and a lot of it seemed to be reported. I think that due to the young age of the film it will still be a year or two before we find more critical analysis of the film on the internet as opposed to the shallower superficial reviews and still image banks.
PART TWO
CRITICAL REVIEW OF FILM AND ITS LITERATURE
Three Dollars (2005) by Robert Connolly is the film adaptation of the Elliot Perlman book of the same name which was released in 1999 which was quite successful. It tells the story of Eddie (David Wenham), your typical mid thirties man with a wife, child, job, and mortgage whose life seems to be going just fine. Through a series of events both personally and professionally a good and decent man is constantly tested by external factors on his life. These factors make it increasingly difficult to maintain his integrity, honour, self respect, and self worth.
What struck me about the film was the almost Job-like character of Eddie who all but loses everything in one of the most wrenching and hopeless portrayals of a man’s life falling apart. The use of music in the film adds a level of humanity to the film as music fits in perfectly with the way the film is structured. As Eddie talks the viewer through flashbacks which he uses to reflect on his life and possibly see where it went wrong, the music that accompanies it by reminding the viewer of where they were and who they were when that song was around. Music seems to be the most nostalgic form of entertainment which makes it a perfect recurring theme for this film that has such a nostalgic undercurrent.
While there are elements of comedy to the film it is clearly of the drama genre with such important, serious, and confronting issues. These issues include the homeless situation in Australia, the breakdown of the family unit, unemployment, the burden of mortgages, the treatment of the elderly, the health system, racism, and even the lack of support for local Australian produce. These issues are so cleverly addressed through characters of high integrity and morals, namely Eddie (David Wenham) and his wife Tanya (Frances O’Connor) who are written well enough that they don’t come across as martyrs or even extraordinary people. They are just regular people who care about other people.
Because it was only released last year it is still receiving its first round of analysis from critics although with the reaction it is receiving im sure that a film such this will be revisited in the years to come as an important piece of Australian Cinema. As it stands, current critical uptake of the film places some elements of the film in quite high regard and applauds its honest portrayal of contemporary Australia. Quotes from reviewers such as, “A powerful film that resonates long after the final credits have rolled. THREE DOLLARS encourages you to scrutinize your own beliefs”
--Luke Benedictus, The Sunday Age, and, “This is the film Australia has been waiting for: a thoroughly, absolutely credible check on how we now live as a nation”
--Noel Purdon, The Adelaide Review, are a evidence of how this film is seen as more of an exploration of Australia as a nation rather than any real great move forward in Australian Cinema.
Much of the uptake of the film also centres on the performances rather than the story itself. Nearly all those reviewing the film agree that this is David Wenham’s finest performance and that it is because of this, as well as the impeccable onscreen chemistry between him and Frances O’Connor, that the family unit explored seems so real and therefore strikes such a cord with the viewer. It is just as well as these characters have gone over well because a common theme in the reviews is their tendency at the end to suggest that Robert Connolly may have lost something in the translation from book to film.
This does seem to be a split viewpoint though, as the main concern of a cluttered plot comes across to some as a rushed and hurried muddles mess, while to others it is a true representation of how everything seems to happen at once and you never wrap everything up nicely. In the traditional sense of film’s returning to equilibrium to satisfy the audience, viewers may be disappointed as in a truer to life way, the film ends with several questions unanswered.
Very few details were available in regards to how the film came about except for a few which were expressed in interviews with David Wenham, Sarah Wynter, and Director Robert Connolly. Firstly the decision by Connolly to make the film came about upon him revisiting Elliot Perlman’s novel. In the interview which is on the Three Dollars DVD bonus disk he tells of how the second time around the story really spoke to him as he had just recently got married, had a child on the way, and now had a mortgage.
David Wenham, who has worked with Connolly before in The Boys (1998) and The Bank (2001), said in his interview that he was extremely keen to work with Connolly again and was just looking for the right project. The same was also true of his co-star Frances O’Connor who he has worked with in minor productions in the past and with whom he has great chemistry. For this reason the two actors were also looking for an opportunity to work together in a feature film.
With the director and two of the main actors keen to work together it feel to Connolly to come up with a screen play from the book which would do the novel justice. In order to achieve the best results in this endeavour he collaborated with Elliot Perlman to try and translate the novel into a two hour on-screen drama.
Three Dollars (2005) is only the second film that Robert Connolly has directed with his only other directorial credit coming from The Bank (2005). He has however produced several other films such as The Boys (1998), Roses are Red (1995), and he was a consultant on Better Than Sex (2000). This places his latest venture right at the top of his list in terms of social conscious stories. While The Bank which he also wrote and directed does seem to have a social commentary to it the film does not delve anywhere near as deep into the lives and feelings of ordinary Australians as his latest film does. While The Bank (2001) can be seen as more of a thriller you would definitely have to call Three Dollars (2005) a drama or even possibly a melodrama due to its, “chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations” (Gillard, 2005). In terms of financial success the film did not do as well as his directorial debut at the box office with nearly twice as much being made in gross for The Bank in 2001.
David Wenham has an extremely extensive body of work spanning stage, television and film however many argue that his performance in Three Dollars (2005) is his best yet. While he has been a part of large budget blockbusters such as Van Helsing and parts two and three of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy his parts in them were less than memorable and his characters were extremely two dimensional. As I have already mentioned his 2005 film The Bank grossed almost twice as much as Three Dollars however Better Than Sex grossed even less than Three Dollars despite doing almost twice as well in terms of opening weekends.
The current health of Australian cinema has been far from impressive for some time so every new movie that comes out of the country carries with it much anticipation and a weight of expectation. Due to the desire of all involved in the Australian film industry for our nation to be a strong film market the band wagon of some films tend to get jumped on quite quickly. For this reason there were many reviews of Three Dollars that sung its praises loudly in the beginning before just rattling off a few of the films major letdowns in the last few lines. Other reviews were out and out scathing attacks of what appears to be another Australian film which did not deliver as promised. Australia is struggling in the drama genre as the films I have discussed have been constantly out performed by Australian comedies such as The Man who sued God (2001), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), The Dish (2000), and even The Wog Boy (2000) all of which grossed much higher than Three Dollars (2005).
The fact that people were so keen to get behind this film and really push it as a saviour of Aussie films is just proof of how badly we need a saviour. Recent efforts such as Little Fish (2005) and Look Both Ways (2005) both grossed higher than this film and were met with stronger critical acclaim than the latest Wenham/Connolly offering. Australian Cinema has failed to reach the lofty heights we once imagined after the runaway success of films such as The Castle (1997), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (2004),and Mad Max 2 (1981). While these films provided momentary blips on the screen for Australia we have never been able to stay high in the world’s eye for long. This is surprising due to the amount of respect and awards that Australian actors are receiving overseas and particularly in Hollywood. Perhaps if we could convince our most successful home grown talent to make Australian Films rather than resorting to our B grade actors who haven’t quite got their big break yet or only seem to do movies part time, Australian films could become a much more impressive showcase of our collective talents.
In terms of Australian films I feel Three Dollars sits somewhere in the company of Lantana (2001) in terms of its genre and style rather than its quality. Watching the film I found very similar qualities in between films and one critic even suggested that, “Wenham’s performance, a subtle blend of resilience and quiet desperation, is one of his best... Not since Lantana has a film taken us so far into the headspace of an Australian man”--Lawrie Zion, The Australian. Both films are driven by a series of unlikely but somehow tightly linked events in which a small cast of players are always involved in every little situation in some way. In this sense both films are truly melodramatic. In Three Dollars we can see the links to the traditional meaning of melodrama as music is such a central part of this film in the way it shadows every emotion shown on screen.
I think in recent years melodramatic movies have moved closer to being that of straight drama in that the acting and the events are less, well ‘melodramatic’. Three Dollars and Lantana are two prime examples where the genre has shifted away from exaggerated love stories and clear cut three act narratives like The Sum Of Us (1994). Instead these films deal with real life problems and realistic ‘heroes’ namely men who can, and do cry. Nothing extraordinary happens to the character of Eddie which makes it hard for some to watch yet eerily close to home for others.
It has been argued that Three Dollars is a drama/comedy but I think this is an example of the overuse of the “ / ” genre. While there are some humorous moments throughout the film the undertone is far too serious and scenes such as the bashing of Eddie and of the homeless man are far too brutal for this to in any way to be considered a comedy. Instead these moments of humour act more like a device through which to show how normal Eddie is in that he can be embarrassed and often deals with stress through off-the-cuff remarks. Three Dollars is no more a comedy than Little Fish which also has occasional humour during a harrowing breakdown of people’s lives.
With the amount of issues touched on in Three Dollars the film almost becomes a straight-out political commentary on Australian life. Instead of comment through retrospect as we see in films such as Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) and The Tracker (2002) this film deals with the here and now of what’s wrong with Australia in a way that I have rarely seen in an Australian movie. For this reason, despite its directorial flaws and somewhat messy tying up of loose ends, I believe that Three Dollars is still an important Australian film almost solely for the reason that it is such a clear snapshot of the Australia we live in and the Australia we fear.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Garry Gillard, 2003, ‘Chapter 5: Art Film’, unpublished.
Cinema in Australia: A Documentary History, (1989) ed. Ina Bertand, New South Wales University Press, NSW.
Thomas Elsaesser 1992 [1972], 'Tales of sound and fury: observations on the family melodrama', in Gerald Mast, Marshall Cohen, & Leo Braudy eds, Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, fourth edition, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
Linda Williams 1992 [1984], 'When the woman looks', from Mary Anne Doane, Patricia Mellencamp & Linda Williams eds, Re-Vision: Essays in Feminist Film Criticism, University Publications of America, & the American Film Institute, Frederick, Md.
FILMOGRAPHY
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 1994, dir. Stephan Elliott
The Bank, 2001, dir. Robert Connolly
Better Than Sex, 2000, dir. Jonathan Teplitzky
The Boys, 1997, dir. Rowan Woods
The Castle, 1997, dir. Rob Sitch
Crocodile Dundee in LA, 2001, dir. Simon Wincer
The Dish, 2000, dir. Rob Sitch
Lantana, 2001, dir. Ray Lawrence
Lilian's Story, 1996, dir. Jerzy Domaradzki
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1981, dir. George Miller
The Man Who Sued God, 2002, dir. Mark Joffe
Rabbit-Proof Fence, 2002, dir. Phil Noyce
The Sum of Us, 1994, dirs Geoff Burton & Kevin Dowling
The Tracker, 2002, wr. dir. Rolf de Heer
The Wog Boy, 2000, dir. Aleksi Vellis