LOOK BOTH WAYS
By Ben Somerford
Film Information
Credits
Director & Scriptwriter; Sarah Watt
Cinematographer; Ray Argall
Producer; Bridget Ikin
Executive Producer; Andrew Myer
Associate Producer; Barbara Masel
Associate Producer; Vicki Sugars
Editor; Denise Haratzis
Production Designer; Rita Zanchetta
Music; Amanda Brown
Distributor; Dendy Films/Footprint Films (Australia),
Kino (USA)
Cast;
Meryl; Justine Clarke
Nick; William McInnes
Andy; Anthony Hayes
Anna; Lisa Flanagan
Phil; Andrew S. Gilbert
Julia; Daniella Farinacci
Joan; Maggie Dence
Jim; Edwin Hodgeman
Train Driver; Andreas Sobik
Linda; Sacha Horler
Release Dates; 18th August 2005 on limited national release in Australia,
14th April 2006 on limited release in USA
Running Time; 100 minutes
Certification; Australia: M,
USA: PG-13
Box Office;Australia; $2,832,616
USA; $4,430
Awards;
2005AFI Awards;
for Best Film (Bridget Ikin),
for Best Original Screenplay (Sarah Watt),
for Best Direction (Sarah Watt),
for Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hayes),
2005 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards;
for Best Picture,
for Best Director (Sarah Watt),
for Best Actor (William McInnes),
for Best Original Screenplay (Sarah Watt),
for Best Editor (Denise Haratzis),
2005 Inside Film Awards;
for Best Direction (Sarah Watt),
for Best Script (Sarah Watt),
for Best Editing (Denise Haratzis),
2005 Toronto International Film Festival;
Discovery Award
Bibliographical Details - Interviews with Filmmakers;
Dawson, Jonathon, ‘Look Both Ways:Interview with Sarah WattAndrew S. Gilbert’ in Senses Of Cinema,August 23 2005
“It's not just about seeing those characters' interior space, it's also about the fact that different characters will see the world in a different way. The film is really just about: If you can shift your perception, you can shift your world.” – (Sarah Watt, Director & Scriptwriter)
Pomeranz, Margaret. At The Movies, August 10 2005, ABC, with Sarah Watt & William McInnes
Bibliographical Details – Reviews;
There is a wide range of reviews about Look Both Ways from newspapers, television, magazines and on-line. Around the film’s release in Australia in August of 2005, television programs At The Movies (ABC), The Movie Show(SBS) and Sunday (Nine) all reviewed the film along with several Australian newspapers. When searching on-line though, reviews about the film are common, but are mostly Australian due to the film’s only recent release in the United States. There were a few American reviews, and even one Canadian review from the Toronto International Film Festival but most of the writings on Look Both Ways were by Australians. Due to the film’s recent release it seems there isn’t much critical work in journals or books about the film, although Look Both Wayswas often referred to by critics on-line when discussing the potential of an Australian film revival.
Edelstein, David (Audio) Look Both Ways, April 21 2006, NPR,
Hawker, Nicola. In The Age, August 18 2005, p.33
Pomeranz, Margaret & Stratton, David. At The Movies, August 10 2005, ABC
Schager, Nick. In Slant Magazine, April 2006
Thompson, Peter. Sunday, August 21 2005, Channel Nine
On-Line Presence;
The film’s on-line presence is largely reviews, although the film itself has a website which includes a blog from director Sarah Watt and many of the positive comments and reviews from critics. The film’s Australian distributor, Dendy Films, also has a site dedicated to Look Both Ways, which also provides basic film information, critical reviews and even the film’s trailer. The on-line presence of the film though is mainly positive Australian reviews. It does seem there is a growing number of American reviews though as the film gets more exposure in the United States.
-Look Both Ways Official Website;
provides information on the synopsis, cast, crew and reviews.
-Dendy Films Website (Distributor of Look Both Ways);
provides film information including the plot outline, cast and many reviews from critics.
-At The Movies Website;
provides detailed and extended information of Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton’s reviews of the film along with release details, cast and credits.
-Rotten Tomatoes;
provides many reviews by critics all sorts of sources, including international newspapers and magazines.
-Internet Movie Database;
provides film information, cast, tagline, plot outline, user reviews and comments.
–Toronto International Film Festival Website;
A Canadian website which provides all the basic film information and a review plus details about Sarah Watt.
-MovieWeb;
An American website which provides basic information, release dates, cast, credits and a synopsis.
Critical Review of Film And Its Literature
Plot & Synopsis;
Upon her return home from her father’s funeral, Meryl (Justine Clarke), witnesses a train accident where a man dies. This train accident begins to connect and intersect the lives of many characters throughout the film. There is Nick (William McInnes), a photographer who has just received the news he has testicular cancer, and Andy (Anthony Hayes), a cynical young reporter who has his own issues with his girlfriend’s pregnancy, both whom are sent by TheSouthern Mail newspaper to investigate the story. Along with these characters, Look Both Ways follows the lives of the crash victim’s wife (Daniella Farinacci), Andy’s pregnant girlfriend (Lisa Flanagan), the newspaper’s editor (Andrew S. Gilbert) and the guilt riddled train driver (Andreas Sobik). All these storylines develop from the train accident and its consequences (some of which are life-changing consequences). The main story of the film though, is focused on the growing relationship between the pessimistic Meryl and Nick, whom seem connected by the theme of death, fear and mortality.
Review;
Look Both Ways, released inAustralia in 2005, is director Sarah Watt’s first film. The film is set on a hot weekend in suburban Adelaide. Watt introduces three main characters, Meryl, Nick and Andy, before their lives intersect following a fatal train accident, similar to Paul Haggis’s Academy Award winning film Crash (2004). Over the weekend Meryl, Nick and Andy respectively, all face the major life-changing possibilities of unemployment, deathorabortion.
Prior to the accident, the film follows Meryl, who is on a train home after her father’s funeral. The viewer is enlightened into her thoughts by flashes of animation which show Meryl’s pessimistic fears as she imagines train crashes and all sorts of disasters in the beginning sequence, which continue long into the film. Then when Meryl witnesses the train accident, it seems all she sees is death. The train accident brings together the characters and here it begins to build a narrative for several characters. Nick, a photographer, who the viewer and he has just learnt has been diagnosed with testicular cancer, and Andy, a reporter, who seems to see hidden agendas behind most occurrences, arrive on the scene of the crash to photograph and investigate the incident respectively. At the scene, the audience is introduced to a stunned and guilt ridden train driver who is inconsolable about the accident, and views the victim’s wives’ reaction as she finds out the horrific news. On departure of the scene, Meryl and Nick, in there efforts to get back to the comfort of their respective homes, find each other walking side by side in the same direction, and thus a humourous yet interesting conversation and relationship begins.
This relationship is the centre of the film as Nick and Meryl seem to share something which develops into romance. Nick too,has flashes of thoughts, although his montages are photographs of disease, cancer, mortality and death. Nick only receives the diagnosis on Friday, and must wait until Monday to get information about the full extent and seriousness of the cancer, thus creating a nightmare of a weekend. The montages are interesting in that Meryl’s are in the form of her work as a water-paint artist while Nick, as a professional photographer, sees his images in the form of photographs. Indeed, Watt incorporating the technique of rapid-fire montages to represent the interior of the characters is similar to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie (2001). Despite this, it is central to understanding Nick and Meryl’s bond as their ‘random’ meetings continue hroughout the middle of the film. It seems the two characters are able to find something in each other which they’d been looking for, but all the catastrophic distractions around them had prevented them from finding, and almost do again. The passive McInnes and pessimistic Clarke’s impressive depiction of these two desperate and flawed yetsympathetic and humorous characters simply enriches this lovely relationship.
Look Both Ways also explores a number of disparate character paths in a way somewhat too familiar for those who have seen P.T. Thompson’s Magnolia (1997). Indeed, the cross character montages are a bit unoriginal but that shouldn’t detract from the many other storylines. Watt only shows us short parts of the train driver and the grieving wife, yet the resolution of their individual and personal troubles is again quite pleasant and fulfilling. Much of the climax of the film is finalised during a rain storm, with some folk rock playing over the top, which is a bit stereotypical, especially considering the weekend’s previous scorching weather, but nonetheless effective. Watching Andy come to realisation that things are not going to work out the way he had hoped in his car is a sharp depiction of reality. Indeed, that is the point of resolving the film in this way(and the point of the title of the film), as it is about their being different perceptions, views and ways of looking at the events and consequences of everyday life, and Watt’s simultaneous resolution gets that point across.
Critical Uptake;
Upon its release in Australia in August 2005, Look Both Ways was critically applauded as a mature drama. It was hailed by many as being somewhat of a ‘saviour’ for Australian film, especially the drama genre. The narrative structure of following several disparate characters was original to an Australian film and the approach to real personal drama impressed critics. Indeed, within Australia, Look Both Ways was a success, ultimately highlighted by its popular success at the AFI Awards at the end of 2005, which saw the film win four awards including Best Film and also its critical success at theFilm Critics Circle of Australia Awards given on November 14 2005 where it won five awards, again including Best Picture.
Despite all the film’s success, there was some negative uptake from critics in response to Watt’s use of animation. David Stratton from At The Movies, argued the animation of Meryl’s thoughts was an unnecessary device to get inside her head, and the film did not need it. Indeed, his partner on the show, Margaret Pomeranz believed it showed creativity and originality. There has though been some debate about the animation in the film amongst critics, some have praised it and some have argued against the need for it.
Indeed, upon the films release in the USA (which was only recent), critics, such as Slant Magazine’s Nick Schager, too questioned the use of animation. Despite the film only recently having been released in the USA, and to a limited audience in New York and Los Angeles, there has been a few reviews, most of which where impressed by the film but saw it as something too familiar. American critical reviewers generally saw it as another one of those films following several disparate characters paths, perhaps due to the recent success of a similar movie Crash.
Circumstances Of Release & Production;
Sarah Watt was the driving force behind the production of Look Both Ways as she wrote the film and directed it. The filmwas produced in early 2004 with the help of Dendy Films, the South Australian Film Corporation and SBS Independent, on a typically Australian small budget and was intended as an artsy film for festivals. Interestingly, when writing the script, Watt had in mind several actors for the key roles including the role of Nick, which was written for her husband William McInnes. Watt, as an artist, also collaborated with Emma Kelly and Clare Callinan in creating the hand-painted animation which Meryl constantly imagined. The film was released on the 18th of August 2005 in Australia and also distributed to festivals abroad, where at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, it gained some attention winning the Discovery award. In April 2006, Look Both Ways was put into the US market, albeit on limited release in only New York and Los Angeles.
Prior Work;
For director and scriptwriter Sarah Watt this is her first feature film, following several short films. Her first short film Small Treasures (1995) saw her win the Best Short at the Venice Film Festival. Her other short films include Derwent Envy (1998), Local Dive (1998), Way Of The Birds (2000) and Living with Happiness (2001) where her roles include scriptwriter, director and producer. In particular the shorts Small Treasures and Living With Happiness, are similar to Look Both Ways as they deal with characters similar to the neurotic Meryl. Watt sees herself as an artist, rather than a filmmaker and took an active role in making Meryl’s paintings.
Of particular value to Look Both Waysis the cinematography of the distinguished and experienced Ray Argall. Argall’s work in the film establishes the dry hot suburban working-class scene emphasised by shots including objects such as barbed wire, bucolic homes and a noticeable lack of grass. Watt has managed to get Argall out of a decade long recess in the filmmaking business. Some of Argall’s works as a cinematographer include Australian Daze (1988), The Prisoner Of St. Petersburg (1989), Tender Hooks (1989), The Castanet Club (1991) and Body Melt (1993) as well he has worked as a director with Return Home (1990) and Eight Ball (1992). Argall and Watt had collaborated on a few of Watt’s short films but Look Both Waysis there first major collaboration.
The faces of a few of the actors in Look Both Ways are familiar. William McInnes is a well-known Australian actor and has appeared on several iconic television programs such as A Country Practice (1990), Blue Heelers (1994-1998, 2004-2005) and SeaChange (1999-2001) along with a few film roles in My Brother Jack (2001), Do Or Die (2001), Dirty Deeds (2002), and The Shark Net (2003). Justine Clarke may be remembered from her role as Ruth Stewart on Home And Away, while she has also appeared in several mini-series including Come In Spinner, Golden Fiddles, and Tracks of Glory and worked with the Sydney Theatre Company. In 2004, Clarke starred in her first feature film, Jeff Balsmeyer’s Danny Deckchair but Look Both Ways, her second feature film, represents her first major film breakthrough for her career.
Position Of Australian Film & Value;
What does the film do on Australia’s current market, what is going on with oz films.
Look Both Ways was hailed by some critics as the saviour the Australian film. Margaret Pomeranz commented that when the film industry was on its last legs, along came Look Both Ways.Other critics discussed how Look Both Ways was a trigger in the revival of Australian film, with such successful films as Rowan Woods’Little Fish (2005), Raymond Carver’s Jindabyne (2005) and the horror movie Wolf Creek by Greg McLean (2005) all coming out after Look Both Ways. Indeed, the consecutive success of these Australian productions has improved the perception of domestic films within Australia. Within the drama genre, the film is seen as the best Australia movie of its type since Ray Lawrence’s Lantana (2001). Indeed, Look Both Wayssymbolises a type of Australian film drama, where the characterisation is deep and personalised, and the ordinary lives are made of interesting focus. The simplistic focus of the film on the character’s lives is a result of the film being a typically Australian tight budget production, which results in a focus on characterisation and relationships rather than special effects or impressive production techniques.
Film References;
Amelie, dir. Jean-Pierre Jeudet, 2001.
Crash, dir. Paul Haggis, 2004.
Danny Deckchair, dir. Jeff Balsmeyer, 2004.
Dirty Deeds, dir. David Caesar, 2002.
Do Or Die, dir. Rowan Woods, 2001.
Eight Ball, dir. Ray Argall, 1992.
Jindabyne, dir. Raymond Carver, 2005.
Lantana, dir. Ray Lawrence, 2001.
Little Fish, dir. Rowan Woods, 2005.
Magnolia, dir. P.T. Thompson, 1997.