FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Somersault [DVD] [2004]

Somersault [DVD] [2004]
enlarge	Director: Cate Shortland Actors: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran Studio: Metrodome Distribution Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £3.42 as of 15/3/2010 10:56 GMT details You Save: £16.57 (83%) New (21) Used (6) from £2.47 Seller: glclearance Rating: 8 reviews Sales Rank: 57928 Format: Anamorphic, PAL Languages: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 102 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5055002551888 ASIN: B0009OJ99A Theatrical Release Date: 2004 Release Date: August 8, 2005 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next » A gem of a movie September 11, 2005 13 out of 14 found this review helpful This is an eminently watchable tale of lost souls looking for a sense of belonging, with towering performances from Abbie Cornish as the fragile and feckless Heidi and Sam Worthington as the directionless Joe.pWe first meet Heidi as she commits the seemingly unforgiveable sin of coming on to her mother's boyfriend. Cast out of home, she heads to the ski resort of Jindabyne on the premise that a casual acquaintance once invited her there. Rejected by him, penniless and homeless, the resourceful Heidi learns to sleep with vacationing boys just to get a bed for the night.pThe story then follows her struggle for acceptance in a closed community - she finds work and accommodation and meets the emotionally distant Joe, the central relationship of the film.pThe cinematography is stunning (if at times a little cliched), with crisp wintry images interspersed with snippets of warmth to mirror the themes of the film.pTo pigeon-hole this as a coming of age drama would be to miss the point. Ultimately it is a story about love and forgiveness and is equally applicable to any viewer, be they 18 or 80. Not to be missed! Little girl lost... July 27, 2006 M. J Leonard (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) 15 out of 17 found this review helpful Light, impressionistic and ethereal, the Australian film Somersault steadily grows on the viewer. Very much reminiscent of this maverick and new wave genre of Australian movie making, in Somersault meaning comes from the very modest and a lot happens when very little is being said. It's where a teenage girl sets off on a sexual and moral coming-of-age odyssey that resonates with remarkable truth and purity. br / br /The lovely sixteen-yea-old Heidi (Abbie Cornish) is a bit of a femme fatale. She knows men are attracted to her and she realizes pretty early on that she can probably get whatever she wants from them. After getting caught making out with her Mum's hunky young boyfriend, this lonely and wraithlike girl drifts up to Jindabyne in the Australian Alps of New South Wales. br / br /Constantly yearning for male attention, her striking blond looks make her an easy target for the horny, vacationing boys - they don't hesitate to take advantage of her. She's also a bit of a party girl and thinks nothing of getting drunk and stoned at the local hangouts. As she tries to find employment - she eventually gets a job working the counter in a service station - she catches the eye of Joe (a terrific Sam Worthington), the son of wealthy landowners. br / br /Joe is handsome and likeable enough, although he's very uptight and remains non-committal. At first, he appears to be in it for thrill of sleeping with an underage girl, but his initial hesitancy masks a deep-seated self-loathing, and certain confusion over his sexuality. As much as Heidi needs him, Joe's just too insecure to return her feelings. br / br /Of course, this is a world of entrenched snobbery where the sons and daughters of the wealthy landowners look down on working class girls like Heidi. At only sixteen Heidi gradually discovers that her slutty behavior and limited employment prospects condemn her to the bottom rungs of this picturesque Jindabyne's social ladder. Even the maternal motel owner Irene (a fabulous Lynette Curran) who takes Heidi under her wing, has her patience tried by the unruly and irresponsible girl. br / br /Somersault with its arty, indistinct photography and it's otherworldly atmosphere, is very much a portrait of two troubled souls searching for love and respect, but director Cate Shortland is talented enough to show that there isn't an easy way out for this couple. As Heidi drifts through life, keeping a diary and looking at the world almost through a childlike sensibility, Shortland is totally adept at delicately capturing Heidi's lovelorn world. br / br /Alternating between glacial, pastel landscapes and burnt-ochre interiors, Summersault is a disturbing portrait of a young girl somewhat at a loss and Cornish's astonishingly empathic performance always stays directly connected to Heidi's troubled soul. Her desire actually seems to protect her from the consequences of some very dire situations. Worthington is also terrific as Joe, with his need to connect with Heidi and his somewhat opaque sexual ambivalence constantly keeping us guessing. br / br /Summersault is an accomplished film, another gritty and edgy slice of Australian life - although the film is at times brutal to watch. Heidi's very presence in this small resort town often seems to make adults uncomfortable and boys cruel. The sense that there is nothing Heidi can do to escape her looks, class and circumstances. Mike Leonard July 06. br / Powerful - with 2 superior lead performances July 20, 2007 Tonkfan 0 out of 1 found this review helpful I watched this film last night, and while I wasn't completely sure of it at first, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. br / br /For all those people who raved about Scarlett Johanson in Lost in Translation, for true dedication and commitment from a young actress, you need go no further than Abbie Cornish. br / br /How anyone could say this film is rubbish I don't understand as it is worth watching just for her performance, which is beautifully understated, yet full of depth. br / br /A sad, lonely girl, who seeks affection from inappropriate sources, after running away from home, she settles in a location where the characters seem even more disturbed and unhappy than her. The lanscape is bleak, the weather relentlessly awful, and the locals (and tourists) seem haunted by even greater demons than Heidi herself. br / br /It's true that the film isn't riddled with twists and sub-plots, but its portrayal of an unhappy, confused girl is pitch-perfect. br / br /And I know I say this every time, but in a world of Hollywood banality, where teenage life is very often one-dimensional (Larry Clark being one of the very few exceptions), with egotistic, mediocre performers radpidly transformed into superstars, both Ms Cornish and her co-star Sam Worthington show how it's done. br / br / The pain of young love July 30, 2005 6 out of 10 found this review helpful Cate Shortland's debut movie Somersault takes you on a journey begun by mistake to the promised land of peace. In Canberra, seemingly young teen Heidi makes that fatal move onto her mother's boyfriend to which her mother finds out. Heidi, a young and curious teenager panics and sets to the place where she feels she will be happy, Jindabyne. pFrom the moment Heidi steps off the bus her life seems to be in slow motion, highlighting every drop of desperateness. Opening our eyes to her past, yet her longing for intimacy - perhaps lost when she left her mother. pThe rawness of this film opens us to the beginning of Shortland's movie career, and also to the life of Heidi. She is to meet a young boy, Joe, who like her is of little words. Both Joe and Heidi are dealing with life in their own ways. Only to experience a true connection, and one that pushes them both off the cliff. Joe is to step in just in time, and save Heidi from another fatal moment. Yet, at this point only to drive her to reality. pThe music, the lighting, the camera work of this film create a true sense for the viewer. Focussing on fine detail, yet the blur at the same time, allowing us more depth into the minds of these characters.pShortland addresses many themes throughout the movie, touching on several, however, the detail is lacking in some parts. However, this adds a more mysterious side of the film to the viewer. Although, the lack of depth leaves it in the mind of the viewer. Shortland is a young and promising film maker, and I look forward to what she has to offer in the near future. Do you know where your teenage daughter is? April 19, 2006 Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) 6 out of 10 found this review helpful SOMERSAULT, a 2004 Australian production which won several Aussie Oscars, is now about to appear in LA's art theaters. I didn't see any compelling reason why it should during an invitation-only pre-screen. br / br /Blonde teenager Heidi (Abbie Cornish) lives in Canberra with her single Mom, Nicole (Olivia Pigeot). In the first of several bad choices, Heidi makes a clumsy attempt to seduce her mother's tattooed boyfriend (Damien De Montemas) - an attempt that's in the first stage of success (because men are sexual pigs) when Nicole walks in. Mom, of course freaks out, driving Heidi to run away by boarding a bus to an Australian winter playground, a dreary place with little play in evidence except a lot of boorish young people getting drunk, only marginal snow, and no shrimps on the barbie. br / br /Afraid of loneliness, Heidi begins looking for love in all the wrong places, and eventually forms a fitful relationship with Joe (Sam Worthington), a young man who herds cattle on his emotionally distant father's ranch. Joe, while outwardly the coolest guy in town, is apparently also undergoing a sexual identity crisis of his own. (For a brief moment, I thought we might veer off into a Down Under version of BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, but, mercifully, the director/writer careened back onto the main road just in time.) Meanwhile, Heidi gets a job clerking in a gas station mini-mart and rents an untenanted flat from a local woman - unoccupied because the woman's son is off in prison. br / br /The acting performances are competent enough; the characters are refreshingly everyday real rather than glamorous. SOMERSAULT isn't a bad film, but it struck me as one that might have been considered edgy when produced by Hollywood twenty years ago. Now, it's not worth the ten bucks you'll pay to see it on the American Big Screen. Yes, by the end, Heidi has begun to discover the differences between love, sex, and friendship and is making the transition to street smart Grown-Up, but I just left the theater thinking, "OK, so?" Showing reviews 1-5 of 8 1 2 Next »

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