Release Date: 16 June 2005 (Exclusively at Cathay Cineplex Orchard)

Synopsis :

Paul (Matthew Macfadyen), a battle weary war photographer, returns to his remote New Zealand hometown, when his father dies, and faces the past he left behind. To his surprise, he also finds the sixteen-year-old Celia (Emily Barclay), the daughter of his first girlfriend, who hungers for the world beyond her small-town.

But many, including the members of both their families, frown upon the friendship and when Celia goes missing, Paul becomes increasingly persecuted as the prime suspect in her disappearance. As the violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced to confront the family tragedy and betrayal he ran from as a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.

Movie Review:

This film tells a dark tale of complicated past, terrible family secrets and broken relationships that are crying out to be mended. At times it felt like it was biting too many different issues than it could have chewed and the slow burner method (as the director had described his choice of presenting this tale based on a novel by Maurice Gee) could prove to be tiring and challenging to viewer’s attention.

However the wait was worth it with all the subplots flowing seamlessly to merge and support the main storyline into a satisfying conclusion. All the questions one might have on why Paul left his home years ago to the roles that each different character play and especially the reason of the secret hideout that Paul’s father had come together in the end to make an impact.

Among the recent directional debut films that I had reviewed, Brad McGann’s “In my Father’s Den” is one of the better productions. He managed to explore the emotional isolation among the characters effectively with the blend of one of New Zealand’s last small towns. His restraint methods for the character’s emotion gave a breath of realism to this film. However realism could have been a double edge sword, on one hand it could make the characters more personal to the viewers and on the other, simply turn people off as they see it everyday. The only fault that I found in his direction was his over indulgence in trying to capture the shades of grey between the characters and the pacing of the film.

Brad’s choice for the lead character, Paul was a good one. Matthew Macfadyen who had done films like Maybe Baby, Enigma and the upcoming Pride and Prejudice was solid in his performance as Paul Prior, the renown war photographer who is emotionally detached with the world around him. It’s not easy to convey the reserved of sadness in his personality and the burden of his anguish past of his character but Matthew came thru with it except some bits of exaggeration explosion.

One important focus in this film was the relationship that Paul had with Celia. The role of Celia went to Emily Barclay; a first timer to films who was spotted by the same casting crew that had spotted Anna Paquin and Keisha Castle- Hughes. Both of them were able to spark the chemistry between each other and brought forth a subtle crush between a teacher and his student. Emily Barclay is also enchanting as Celia, an awkward teenager, who longs for the horizon beyond her tiny town.

Miranda Otto played Penny, wife of Paul’s brother Andrew who is seeking more affection from her husband. Among all the cast from this film, she has the most high-profile history of films and yet she had limited screen time. The impressive bit about Miranda Otto playing Penny was that she was able to transform what little time she had on screen into an effective portrayal of a neglected wife.

Overall, there are riveting performances from a strong cast and although the film had a slow first half and threatens to lose focus, the story ties up strongly in the end. The beautiful usage of the landscape of New Zealand aiding to the ambience of the film should not be overlooked too.

Movie Rating: B-

Review by Richard Lim Jr