Awards:
SAN SEBASTIÁN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2004
<YOUTH JURY AWARD>
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2004
<INTERNATIONAL CRITICS' AWARD (FIPRESCI)>
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Brad Mcgann
Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Miranda Otto,
Emily Barclay, Jodie Rimmer, Jimmy Keen
RunTime: 2 hrs 7 mins
Released By: Cathay Keris Films and Festive
Films
Official Website: http://www.inmyfathersden.com/
Rating: M18 (Mature Theme)
Release
Date: 16 June 2005 (Exclusively at Cathay Cineplex
Orchard)
Synopsis
:
Paul
(Matthew Macfadyen), a battle weary war photographer, returns
to his remote New Zealand hometown, when his father dies,
and faces the past he left behind. To his surprise, he also
finds the sixteen-year-old Celia (Emily Barclay), the daughter
of his first girlfriend, who hungers for the world beyond
her small-town.
But many,
including the members of both their families, frown upon the
friendship and when Celia goes missing, Paul becomes increasingly
persecuted as the prime suspect in her disappearance. As the
violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced
to confront the family tragedy and betrayal he ran from as
a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence
and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.
Movie
Review:
This
film tells a dark tale of complicated past, terrible family
secrets and broken relationships that are crying out to be
mended. At times it felt like it was biting too many different
issues than it could have chewed and the slow burner method
(as the director had described his choice of presenting this
tale based on a novel by Maurice Gee) could prove to be tiring
and challenging to viewer’s attention.
However
the wait was worth it with all the subplots flowing seamlessly
to merge and support the main storyline into a satisfying
conclusion. All the questions one might have on why Paul left
his home years ago to the roles that each different character
play and especially the reason of the secret hideout that
Paul’s father had come together in the end to make an
impact.
Among
the recent directional debut films that I had reviewed, Brad
McGann’s “In my Father’s Den” is one
of the better productions. He managed to explore the emotional
isolation among the characters effectively with the blend
of one of New Zealand’s last small towns. His restraint
methods for the character’s emotion gave a breath of
realism to this film. However realism could have been a double
edge sword, on one hand it could make the characters more
personal to the viewers and on the other, simply turn people
off as they see it everyday. The only fault that I found in
his direction was his over indulgence in trying to capture
the shades of grey between the characters and the pacing of
the film.
Brad’s
choice for the lead character, Paul was a good one. Matthew
Macfadyen who had done films like Maybe Baby, Enigma and the
upcoming Pride and Prejudice was solid in his performance
as Paul Prior, the renown war photographer who is emotionally
detached with the world around him. It’s not easy to
convey the reserved of sadness in his personality and the
burden of his anguish past of his character but Matthew came
thru with it except some bits of exaggeration explosion.
One
important focus in this film was the relationship that Paul
had with Celia. The role of Celia went to Emily Barclay; a
first timer to films who was spotted by the same casting crew
that had spotted Anna Paquin and Keisha Castle- Hughes. Both
of them were able to spark the chemistry between each other
and brought forth a subtle crush between a teacher and his
student. Emily Barclay is also enchanting as Celia, an awkward
teenager, who longs for the horizon beyond her tiny town.
Miranda
Otto played Penny, wife of Paul’s brother Andrew who
is seeking more affection from her husband. Among all the
cast from this film, she has the most high-profile history
of films and yet she had limited screen time. The impressive
bit about Miranda Otto playing Penny was that she was able
to transform what little time she had on screen into an effective
portrayal of a neglected wife.
Overall,
there are riveting performances from a strong cast and although
the film had a slow first half and threatens to lose focus,
the story ties up strongly in the end. The beautiful usage
of the landscape of New Zealand aiding to the ambience of
the film should not be overlooked too.
Movie
Rating: B-
Review
by Richard Lim Jr
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