Heather Mitchell Movies

A handful of tourists looking for adventure get more than they bargained for when they cross paths with a massive man-eating beast in this thriller. Pete McKell (Michael Vartan) is a writer for an American travel magazine who has been assigned to write a story about vacationing in rugged Northern Australia. Pete signs up for a cruise along a river that's home to a large crocodile population, with tough but pretty Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell) serving as guide. Pete soon finds he's roughing it in the Aussie wilds with an eclectic variety of travelers, including Russell (John Jarratt), who is dealing with the death of his wife; Simon (Stephen Curry), a tactless amateur photographer; and Allen (Geoff Morrell), a member of the British upper crust making the trip with his ailing spouse (Heather Mitchell) and their rambunctious daughter (Mia Wasikowska). While Kate's former husband, who also works on the river, makes a pest of himself in the early stages of the voyage, the travelers soon find they have more to worry about when their craft is attacked by a massive 25-foot crocodile, who is just clever enough to know how to trap its prey before enjoying them for dinner. Rogue was written and directed by Greg McLean, who made a splash among horror fans in 2005 with his debut film, Wolf Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed by Craig Lahiff, Black and White is a story about bigotry, social injustice, and a real-life murder trial that made Australian headlines in the late '50s. On a December afternoon in 1958, the body of a nine-year-old white girl is discovered in a cave off the coast of Southern Australia. Detective Paul Turner (Roy Billing) quickly arrests a half-aboriginal fair-worker named Max Stuart (David Ngoombujarra), who signs a confession. However, being that Max is illiterate, the legitimacy of the confession is contested by his legal aid representatives, David O'Sullivan (Robert Carlyle) and Helen Devaney (Kerry Fox). Despite the questionable confession, Max is found guilty by the all-white, all-male jury, and sentenced to be hanged. O'Sullivan lodges a series of appeals, but no conclusive evidence of Max's guilt or innocence has been found to this day. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Guy (Richard Roxburgh), a lonely bachelor, meets the woman of his dreams in Lizzie (Cate Blanchett), an impossibly beautiful doctor with elegance, style, and sophistication. Their six-week courtship leads to marriage, and the wedding is a big one, with 100 guests and a posh reception that never ends. It's during the reception that Guy begins to have flashbacks -- and second thoughts -- about Jenny (Frances O'Connor), the free-spirited woman who was his first love and who is the opposite of Lizzie. The more he thinks about warm and fun-loving Jenny, the more he sees Lizzie as cold and remote. Although it's a little late in the game to be getting cold feet, that's exactly what Guy has.

~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

"Everlasting Secret Family" is the name of a sub-rosa homosexual brotherhood in this riveting Australian film. Two of the ESF members are a middle-aged politician (Arthur Dignam) and a boarding-school student (Mark Lee). The younger man begins chafing at the "plaything" status imposed upon him by the older members of ESF. His resentment culminates in a battle of wills between himself and the senator's politically expedient "straight" wife (Heather Mitchell). Dispensing with subtlety, Everlasting Secret Family suggests that, like the so-called mainstream political scene, the gay lifestyle can become a dangerously manipulative power trip in the wrong hands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this hilarious, award-winning comedy, Malcolm (Colin Friels) is an innocent, naive mechanical genius with a distinct gap where sexual and social awareness normally reside. He first gets into trouble when he builds his version of a streetcar and then takes it on a joyride through Melbourne -- a definite no-no. That exploit costs him his job as a maintenance man for the streetcar company. Out of work, Malcolm is forced to take in two boarders who are actually a con man and his female companion. The con artist is intrigued by all of Malcolm's mechanical inventions, and cash registers are clicking at the back of his mind. It does not take him long to convince Malcolm to join them in robbing a bank -- which turns out to be even more adventurous than the streetcar ride through Melbourne. Director Nadia Tass and her husband, co-producer, scripter and cinematographer David Parker followed up with an enjoyable and funny Rikky and Pete. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide