Lantana Reviews

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick (if I’m not mistaken, it was even on the list ‘1001 movies you must see before you die’ at some point) so I had some rather high expectations before watching it. Apparently, it was a massive critical success in Australia and it was then also heralded as well abroad. However, I must admit it, I was eventually rather disappointed by the whole thing. I mean, it was a good movie, no doubt about it and I really enjoyed the directing and the acting as well but, honestly, even though the story was interesting enough, it was nothing mind-blowing whatsoever in my opinion. Somehow, it was reminiscent of other multi-layered features (or hyperlink features) such as ‘Magnolia’ or ‘Babel’ and some viewers seem to suggest that it is a very subtle feature with a lot going on in the subtext and the symbolic but, honestly, I was not entirely convinced. Personally, I thought the whole thing was mildly entertaining and interesting but, not much more than that, I’m afraid. To conclude, even though I might not be an Australian masterpiece after all, it is still a very well made detective story and it is definitely worth a look.