What a treat! We were able to meet face to face for our February Film discussion. We have some new members to the class, although not all were able to join us for our first class. One of our members opened her home, making it possible for us to meet for our class. We hope to have access to a second room that is being made available for U3A use once the renovations are complete. This will mean a face-to-face meeting on 10 March.
The film we discussed for our February class was “The Dry”. This was based on the book by Jane Harper. It is set a fictional town in Australia.
Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his hometown, Kiewarra, after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife Karen and son Billy (a baby daughter was spared) before taking his own life. Luke’s mother is sure that this was not the case and persuades Aaron to stay and investigate. Aaron is sure the deaths are connected to the death twenty years earlier of friend, Ellie Deacon, when they were all teenagers. With the help of the local sergeant, Aaron investigates the events. He eventually solves the death of his friend and family. In the final scenes, he discovers who killed Ellie. As with murder mysteries in general there are twists and turns along the way.
Three key characters are Aaron Falk (played by Eric Bana), school friend Gretchen (played by Genevieve O’Reilly) and Greg Raco, the sergeant (played by Keir O'Donnell). It was filmed predominantly in the Wimmera-Mallee area of Victoria with Minyip and Beulah key among the towns used.
The film moves back and forward between the events twenty years earlier and the current time. It does mean concentrating to keep track of what was happening when, but this does not detract from some good performances and cinematography.
The screenplay was generally close to the story, with some of the dialogue lifted straight from the book. Depiction of Australian rural life and scenes gave a true picture. There was specific mention of the houses and the pub as being authentic.
Overall a good film and a pleasant experience back in a cinema! Members who watched the film rated it as 4 out of 5.
Our March discussion will be on “A Call to Spy” which opened at BPACC on 18 February.
The things we will watch for in viewing the film include:
Joy Shirley
The film we discussed for our February class was “The Dry”. This was based on the book by Jane Harper. It is set a fictional town in Australia.
Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his hometown, Kiewarra, after an absence of over twenty years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend, Luke, who allegedly killed his wife Karen and son Billy (a baby daughter was spared) before taking his own life. Luke’s mother is sure that this was not the case and persuades Aaron to stay and investigate. Aaron is sure the deaths are connected to the death twenty years earlier of friend, Ellie Deacon, when they were all teenagers. With the help of the local sergeant, Aaron investigates the events. He eventually solves the death of his friend and family. In the final scenes, he discovers who killed Ellie. As with murder mysteries in general there are twists and turns along the way.
Three key characters are Aaron Falk (played by Eric Bana), school friend Gretchen (played by Genevieve O’Reilly) and Greg Raco, the sergeant (played by Keir O'Donnell). It was filmed predominantly in the Wimmera-Mallee area of Victoria with Minyip and Beulah key among the towns used.
The film moves back and forward between the events twenty years earlier and the current time. It does mean concentrating to keep track of what was happening when, but this does not detract from some good performances and cinematography.
The screenplay was generally close to the story, with some of the dialogue lifted straight from the book. Depiction of Australian rural life and scenes gave a true picture. There was specific mention of the houses and the pub as being authentic.
Overall a good film and a pleasant experience back in a cinema! Members who watched the film rated it as 4 out of 5.
Our March discussion will be on “A Call to Spy” which opened at BPACC on 18 February.
The things we will watch for in viewing the film include:
- Did you enjoy the film? What in particular did you like?
- Was there anything that you did not like?
- What did you think about the cinematography?
- What did you think of the performances? Any strong performances that stand out? Any weak performances that spoilt the film?
- Overall rating out of 5.
Joy Shirley
