Directed by: Rachel Perkins
Written by: Shaun Grant, based upon the book by Craig Silvey
Starring: Levi Miller, Aaron L. McGrath, Angourie Rice, Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving
IMDb Link
Jasper Jones is a film that captures the essence of its setting and characters.
*Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead*
Charlie Bucktin (Miller) is a thirteen-year-old living in a small country town in WA in 1969. He's approached one night by Jasper Jones (McGrath), a young man living in the town who is generally outcast because of his mixed White-Aboriginal heritage and defiant lifestyle. Jasper comes to Charlie's window one night, begging for help, and takes Charlie to the site of a dead girl, Laura Wishart, hung by her neck from a tree. Jasper believes that he will be blamed for Laura's murder, as she was secretly his girlfriend, backed by the townspeople's general attitude towards Jasper. Charlie helps Jasper hide the body, then works to investigate the cause of the girl's death, while also becoming involved with Laura's younger sister Eliza (Rice, who some may remember from the Australian film These Final Hours). Charlie also has to avoid drawing the attention of any parents, who have become hysterical and protective after the disappearance of Laura, particularly Charlie's mother Ruth (Collette, playing a role oddly the parallel opposite of her's in The Way Way Back).
The tale of a young person experiencing adult themes while coming out from under their parents to behave of their own accord is a good, if a bit done-before, way to structure a coming-of-age story, and the murder mystery adds a level of intrigue to the film; even if you think you've figured it out by film's end, it's still satisfyingly delivered. The film starts oddly: while the pace is quick and adds a level of tension and confusion, the film doesn't do much to add context to some of the first scenes down the track, and it initially adopts character inner-thought as narration but drops it after ten minutes, so you're left with a quick and concise delivery of the plot that has you interested, but with no real idea of who these two main characters are, and even as the film goes on and you start to become engrossed in the town, there's this sense that neither Charlie nor Jasper existed as characters before the film's story started; I understand that they don't need their whole life stories fleshed out, but the film doesn't offer them much detail as to why their characters are involved with each other and why they do what they do, other than Jasper's initial comments about them both being 'outsiders', a statement that doesn't really hold up when you examine Charlie's place in the town. It wouldn't bother me as much if the film didn't end on a slightly ambiguous note, but the ending of the film creates this sense of realism to the story, that what we're watching is a part of the greater narrative of the lives of the characters and the town that they live in, that what we see will continue to affect the characters long after the credits role, that we're watching people, but the film's start just creates this sense that Jasper and Charlie were pointless entities waiting for the plot to start. The brisk pace works for quickly establishing intrigue, but doesn't do as much to create a foundation for the characters. However, while this isn't worked on immediately, the film does ultimately go a long way to give Charlie a strong arc, having him come to understand more mature themes and issues, while also leaving the fate of him and the town in a bittersweet manner. There are some odd characterisations that aren't given much context; Charlie's mother Ruth is completely irrational and never has anything positive attributed to her, while Charlie's father Wes is pretty much perfect and is never seen on-screen doing anything but the best for people. It would make sense if we knew more about them, but without proper background, they feel a little like caricatures.
There are also several additional plot points that, while interesting on their own, have little to do with Charlie's experience with Jasper. While in book form these extra details may have done much to give the town a living, breathing, realistic feeling, in the film they draw too much focus away from the primary narrative. The added racial pressure of Charlie's Vietnamese best friend Jeffrey's family being treated poorly by certain members of the town is a good idea on its own, but only intertwines with the Charlie/Jasper story a little thematically rather than in any direct way. A subplot involving Ruth works tangentially and gives a little more insight in to Charlie's home life, but its resolution doesn't have anything to do with how Charlie, Jasper and Eliza all end up. It's almost like the film is pulp, mixing and intertwining various stories, but their only connection is that they all take place in the same town, without any strong direct narrative causes for each other. It could work if the subplots were fully fleshed out, but that's a little lacking here and ultimately draws attention from the main story that was so quickly set as a focus.
While it meanders a little around the rest of the stories, the main plot is still solid, intriguing and with a lot of good ideas at work. I loved the dynamic of Jasper and Charlie with Mad Jack Lionel (Weaving), a recluse old man whom Charlie and Jasper believe to be Laura's killer. I also enjoyed the constant air of mystery, drawing me in and investing me enough to get to me think about who the killer might be and try to consider the dynamics between characters in the town.
What I was most impressed by in this film was the setting and how Perkins managed to really catch the look and feel of an Australian country town, with the overarching themes of racism giving a good sense of the time the story takes place in. The background tension of the Vietnam War combined with the hysteria over the missing Laura set the mood of the film, and the actions and reactions of the townspeople reflect the time and circumstance, while the countryside is easily perceived as gorgeous but hot.
I was also impressed by some of the performances in the film, particularly Collette, as well as Weaving as Mad Jack Lionel. Collette, is effective as the irrational and unlikable mother, playing her part very convincingly, even if the total demonising of Charlie's mother vs. the complete lionising of Charlie's father did appear skewed. Weaving isn't in the film much, but has a pivotal scene (which I won't give away) that reminds you why he's such a talented actor.
The Verdict: I appreciated Jasper Jones as a film that captured the atmosphere of an Australian country town, and while it told a story that's nothing new, it told it well, with the added tinge of uncertainty but hopefulness by film's end that I've come to find common in Australian film and storytelling. While the film lacks focus in its narrative, it's held together by its intrigue, as well as strong performances from the likes of Collette and Weaving. It's also a movie set and filmed in Western Australia, so I highly recommend it to people in support of the Australian Film Industry.
Rating: 6.5/10
Published March 16th, 2017
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