Caroline Gillmer Movies
- 2000
Coma meets Heathers in this Australian black comedy about crime, revenge, and kidney thieves. Brad (Matt Day) and Gregor (Jason Barry) are eager med students struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to government cutbacks, they are forced to share a cockroach-infested one-bedroom apartment, which they rent from their odious landlord (Reg Evans), and they're even forced to share the same bed (an inflatable sex doll in a nurse's uniform divides the mattress and reasserts their nervous heterosexuality). Their living situation is made even worse by their obnoxious neighbors; one guy who lives upstairs (Robert Carlton) engages in loud parties and noisy lovemaking at all hours of the night while another guy's car alarm constantly goes off. Unable to sleep or eat, much less study, the two are on the brink of giving up their studies. To make matters even worse, they are up to their stethoscopes in debt to gangster/western-enthusiast George Roy Rogers (Chris Haywood). Though his penchant for cheesy western memorabilia and silly hats seems a bit daft, he is deadly serious about collecting, and his two muscle-bound thugs Dale and Trigger are hell-bent on enforcing the debt. Brad and Gregor's luck changes when they learn of a noted surgeon, Marcus Browning (Rod Mullinar), who is willing to pay top dollar for organs, just before a sharply-dressed yuppie takes a flying leap and splatter-lands at their feet. Thinking quickly, Brad yanks out a kidney, crams it in an ice cream carton, and carries it over to Browning. Counting their cash, they realize that they have happened upon a neat little way of getting out of the red. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Day, Jason Barry, (more)
A female detective discovers the dark side of the world of contemporary literature in this unusual thriller from Australia. Mickey (Abbie Cornish) is a brash young female poet who is gaining a potent reputation for her powerful verse about love and sex. When she suddenly disappears, private detective Jill Fitzpatrick (Susie Porter) is hired to help find her. Jill doesn't know much about poetry, so she starts her investigation by tracking down Mickey's teacher and mentor, Diana (Kelly McGillis), to learn more about Mickey and the circles in which she traveled. Jill is a lesbian, and quickly finds herself strongly attracted to Diana; though Diana is married to Nick (Marton Csokas), she finds herself equally infatuated with Jill, and the two are soon having an affair. When Mickey is found murdered, her parents ask Jill to step up the investigation, and Jill digs deeper into the facts of Mickey's life -- learning the young woman was willing to sleep with nearly anyone who could advance her career. She also discovers that the two older male poets with whom Mickey had become involved are not at all eager to answer questions about her disappearance. The Monkey's Mask is based on a mystery novel written in verse form by Dorothy Porter; the novel became an international bestseller and the biggest-selling book of poetry published in Australia since World War II . ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susie Porter, Kelly McGillis, (more)
- 1997
PC is a super smart Jack Russell Terrier (Forrest) who knows how to use a computer thanks to his brilliant owner Alex (Norman Kaye), who has just learned the secret whereabouts of $1million and stored it on a computer disk which he gives to PC for safekeeping. The evil Anja (Sandy Gore) learns about the treasure and takes care of Alex, but not before the hacker instructs PC to find his pal Susie. PC is nearly to Susie's house when he is almost run over by a car. Stephen (Joe Petruzzi), the driver, and Amy (Rachael Blake), his wife and his kids Zac (Nathan Cavaleri) and Binby (Freyja Meere) see that the dog is okay and take him home. Luckily, the family lives next door to Susan and her adolescent daughter Samantha (Emilie Francois). Zac and Sam become friends while PC figures out how to talk via Zac's computer, which can interpret the dog's barks and whines. His vocal ability comes in handy when Anja shows up to get the missing disk. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Connolly, Nathan Cavaleri, (more)
- 1995
- R
This Australian drama is an adaptation of Hannie Rayson's award-winning play. It is the tale of the three Moynihan sisters, Hilary, a widow who lives in the family "hotel" with their father and her teenage son; Pippa, who lives in New York; and Meg, who lives in London. After a long absence, the three gather in their familial home in Sorrento, a coastal town near Melbourne, for their father's funeral. Many of the town's most prominent citizens are terribly impressed that Meg has just published an award-winning book that is actually a thinly veiled vicious attack on the town, its people, and her family. It is not a happy reunion, as old hurts and rivalries amongst the sisters immediately begin resurfacing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The title of the 1986 Australian miniseries Cyclone Tracy refers to an infamous hurricane that hit and nearly destroyed the northern Australian city of Darwin between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1974, killing well over 100 and leaving over 20,000 homeless. This docudrama recreates that terrible series of events. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Wendy Hughes plays a gorgeous nurse tending to emotionally disturbed Australian soldiers during WWII. Private Gary Sweet seems to be the most well-adjusted of the patients, which Hughes finds attractive. The fly in the ointment is jealous, maladjusted-patient Richard Moir. His campaign of cruelty, calculated to humiliate and unhinge Sweet, serves only to draw Sweet closer to Hughes. His own love for Hughes unrequited, Moir kills himself. Hughes is then abruptly deserted by Sweet, who feels responsible for Moir's death. Despite all her good intentions and her heartfelt compassion, Hughes is left alone upon war's end. Indecent Obsession is based on a work by popular Australian novelist Colleen McCullough (Tim, The Thorn Birds). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hughes, Gary Sweet, (more)
- 1984
All the Rivers Run is a four-part miniseries set in the Australia of the early 1900s. Sigrid Thornton stars as Philadelphia Gordon, an English artist who undertakes a tragic move to Australia with her family. During their voyage to the new continent, a shipwreck occurs, killing all but Philadelphia and one of the ship's crewmen. She is then shuttled off to live with her aunt and uncle on their farm, and uses her inheritance to fund a paddleship business with the crewman from the vessel who saved her life. Philadelphia's life is forever altered when she meets handsome frontier paddleboat skipper Brenton Edwards (the Australian actor John Waters -- not to be confused with the iconoclastic American director of the same name). Our heroine marries Edwards, but the union begets trouble when their paddlesteamer catches fire, destroying the craft altogether and forcing Brenton to take another job. Later, an accident that renders Brenton lame forces Philadelphia to work hard and support the couple; she then decides to rebuild the vessel while doubling up her efforts as a painter. Scripted by George Miller (the director of Man from Snowy River), All the Rivers Run was released in the U.S. over the HBO Cable service; it first aired January 15 through 18, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigrid Thornton, John Waters, (more)
- 1982
- R
Based on John Embling's book Tom, the Australian Fighting Back is set in a hellhole of a slum school. Most of the teachers have given up on the "unreachable" students. Not so idealistic John (Lewis Fitz-Gerald), who channels all his energies into elevating the intelligence and self-confidence of unruly 13-year-old Tom (Paul Smith). The latter actor is so good that it's hard to believe that Fighting Back was his first film. This sincerely-intentioned drama should not be confused with the like-vintage American actioner Fighting Back (aka Death Vengeance). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Paul L. Smith, (more)
