Noni Hazlehurst Movies
A former drug-addict in her early thirties attempts to put her shady past to rest while paving the way for a brighter future in director Rowan Woods' tale of love, trust, and redemption in modern-day Australia. Tracy Heart (Cate Blanchett) hasn't lived her 32 years so much as she has simply survived them. Ravaged by the drug-addiction and determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her overworked single-mother Janelle (Noni Hazelhurst), Tracy makes a personal vow to open her own business and turn her life around before it's too late and life has passed her by. Tracy's plan is complicated, however, when three men from her past reappear with their own plans for the future. In addition to the troubling re-appearance of her ex-boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen), her criminal-minded brother Ray (Martin Henderson) seems hell-bent on making a name for himself in the underworld, and the emotional demands of troubled family friend and ex-football star Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving) have left the emotionally vulnerable Tracy shaken and confused. When Tracy's modest dreams of a happy life catch the attention of feared criminal kingpin Bradley "The Jockey" Thompson (Sam Neill), she is forced to place her fragile trust in the hands of her skeptical mother and take one last trip into the past to confront her greatest fear.
~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill, (more)
- 1992
Clowning Around was the blanket title for two separate British/Australian TV series, both aimed at a youthful audience. The hero, Simon Gunner (Clayton Williamson), was a stagestruck youngster who aspired to become a circus clown. With the help of veteran funster Jack Merrick (Ernie Dingo), Simon ultimately realized his goal. Produced in France and Australia by ABC/Barron Films, the 16-episode Clowning Around first aired in 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
The two-part Australian miniseries Fields of Fire III was the third and final annual installment in the Australian TV saga inspired by Robert Marchand's novel Cane. Returning to the fold were Todd Boyce as British expatriate Bluey and Melissa Docker as Aussie lass Dusty, whose romance and marriage had dominated the proceedings in Fields of Fire (set in the late '30s-early '40s) and Fields of Fire II (set in the immediate post-WWII era). Now it was 1951, and the emphasis was on Italian refugee Gina (Peta Toppano), newly widowed after the death of her black-marketeer husband. Returning to her roots, Gina set up a cane field with her brother Paolo, experiencing the usual trials and tribulation of small-business entrepreneurs in the uncertain years following the War. Fields of Fire III was broadcast by Australia's Nine Network on July 16 and 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
