Australasian Cinema > directors >
Lion (Garth Davis, 2015) wr. Luke Davies from Saroo Brierley autobiography A Long Way Home, prod. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Angie Fielder; Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman; Indian son reunited with birth mother
Mary Magdalene (Garth Davis, 2018) wr. Helen Edmundson, Philippa Goslett, prod. Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Liz Watts, dp Greig Fraser; Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Tahar Rahim, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ariane Labed; biopic; released 16Mar18
My ignorant opinion of Davis is that he can't direct actors - or not yet. He got lucky (very lucky!) with Lion, with what was perceived as a relevant (and sentimental - indeed tear-jerking) story and one good actor - Dev Patel. Everyone else is ordinary, or worse.
Because of that, he got lucky again with a much bigger but equally average film - again with one good actor who didn't need direction to be impressive (in his own way) - Joaquin Phoenix.
I think we can say now that his career his launched. Let's see if he learns anything about directing actors.
Foe (Garth Davis, 2022) wr. Garth Davis, Iain Reid (novel), prod. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning et al., Amazon Studios; Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Aaron Pierre; Victoria: Docklands, Winton Wetlands etc.; Set slightly in the future, after severe climate change has ruined farmland. A farmer and his wife struggle on one of the last remaining farms until a knock on the door changes things.
Garry Gillard | New: 26 September, 2018 | Now: 11 January, 2023