Flirting

source: Flirting

Trailer—Flirting

Flirting

I am not one for romance, but this film made me search for the first part. Unfortunately, I think I have to be Australian to find it. Anyway, it has the feel of a book movie, one of those rare films with unique and real characters and real situations. The basic story is of a "forbidden love" between a boy and a girl from different boarding schools "run by former Gestapo officers" as the lead describes their schools. Basically something like frustrated nuns with no Christian moral are running the schools, forbidding any real display or opportunity for affection. It is a very cute movie, with a young Nicole Kidman in a secondary role. If you like films with smart kids that everyone picks upon finding true love (against adversity) you'll love this one.

It's 1965 rural Australia. Danny Embling (Noah Taylor) is a student in an all-male boarding school. His stuttering and his looks leave him the target of bullying along with the abusive teachers. The other kids call him "Bird" as a taunt. In the neighbor all-girls school, Nicola Radcliffe (Nicole Kidman) is the lead girl. Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton) is the new girl and she's bullied for being black. All the characters are so ugly in this movie. It really puts me in the wrong mood for a comedy. It doesn't feel right as a drama either. I don't like the lead characters. Danny has a smugness about being a victim of bullying. Thandiwe also has a cold superiority about her. Nicola is surprising the most intriguing character of them all. It's tough to laugh at any of this and hard to feel for any of the characters.

This is my favorite coming of age movie. The principles, supporting cast and screenplay are all first rate. There is a credible depth of character that is extremely refreshing. The predictably mean characters are not just simple sadists. I highly recommend this film. It is a standout in a very crowded, degraded genre.

This is a fantastic coming of age story. Noah Taylor as Danny Embling is brilliant. Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman also do a wonderful job (Plus both are walking dreams) This movie definitely surpasses The Year My Voice Broke. It makes a giant leap in the quality of the picture and writing. Of course that's not to say that The Year My Voice Broke wasn't also very good, but this sequel adds much more to the tales that are coming of age stories. This movie not only follows up on how Danny Embling is doing, but it also shows a female perspective of growing up. The way Noah Taylor and Thandie Newton react to one another as their characters is exactly the way most of probably wish we could with our own first loves. They are without fear of each other.

I enjoyed this movie. I particularly liked the way they referred to Camus and Sartre in such offhand ways. I think this is the type of move that you must see again and again to get the full impact. I plan to see it a few more times to soak in all the nuances of the plot and character formation.

"Flirting" is a lukewarm sequel and another chapter in the life of writer/director Duigan's character Danny Embling (Taylor) who falls in love with a beautiful African girl (Newton), both residents of his and hers Aussie boarding schools. A coming of age flick, this restrained and pleasant love story treads softly and with tenderness, ignoring its potential for sexationalism, as it focuses on the young racially mixed couple in and among just so much period and boarding school filler. Okay stuff for anyone in the mood for a flick about young love in bloom. (B-)

The only reason I even watched this movie (at first) is because there was nothing else on tv, and I saw from the commercial that Nicole Kidman was in it. I'd seen Noah Taylor in the Tomb Raider movie and loved his dorky, scatterbrained performance. So I sat down and watched it. I was amazed. This movie is GREAT for a romantic person. The difficulty of the situation in Africa, combined with sad romance, repression, and brutality was enough to make me feel the emptiness that comes with the longing for true love that every girl and boy feels at one point or another. I rented the movie on video, and was surprised to find that very little was cut out; just a few slightly racier moments, and a foul word or two, plus one scene at the end was double-shot to have Thandie Newton in a bra and panties rather than naked. Rent it and watch if you're a longing romantic, or if you want to be one. Ah, love is such exquisite pain.