Aussie Storm doesn’t strike twice
Storm Boy (PG, 99 mins) Directed by Shawn Sheet Reviewed by
T★★★
he original is one of the most-beloved Australian family films of all time. Based on Colin Thiele’s 1964 novel, 1976’s
Storm Boy told the tale of isolated young boy Mike who, with the help of Aboriginal man Fingerbone Bill, attempts to raise three orphaned pelican chicks.
Like Kes and Old Yeller before it, Storm Boy came with a tear-inducing sting that left a mark on a generation of moviegoers across the Tasman.
Now, more than 40 years on, the director of Olivia Newton John biopic Hopelessly Devoted to You (Shawn Sheet) and the writer of
Underbelly: Chopper (Justin Monjo) have teamed up for a contemporary update/remake.
Here, Michael Kingley (Geoffrey Rush) is a retired businessman. Called into the city by his son-inlaw Malcolm (800 Words’ Erik Thomson), Kingley is ready to approve his company’s latest money-spinning land development proposal. However, that’s before he encounters his outraged granddaughter Madeline (Morgana Davies). She’s convinced that the move will ruin waterways and destroy the homelands of the indigenous pelican population. ‘‘Mum would have been disgusted with you,’’ she spits.
Coupled with the commemoration of his dearly departed daughter’s birthday, it all puts Michael in a melancholy mood, taking his mind back to his childhood days on Ninety Mile Beach and his time with Mr Proud, Mr Ponder and Mr Percival.
The use of those names (actually the ones given to the three pelicans who played the original movie’s Mr Pelican) is a nice callback to the inspiration for this slightly convoluted eco family drama. Storm Boy 2019’s best moments come in revisiting the central tale of a boy and his pelicans, with Tidelands’ Finn Little delivering an impressive performance, ably supported by Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad) and Cleverman’s Trevor Jamieson. Michael’s windswept childhood cut off from the rest of the world is evocatively brought to life by Sheet and company – you can almost feel the salt spray and chilling winds.
Unfortunately, the modern-day frametale feels far more mechanical and clunky by comparison. Despite Rush’s (Shine) best avuncular and eccentric efforts, his character’s ecoreawakening and rediscovery of his lost youth lacks any sense of nuance and subtlety. Sheet is a little heavy handed when it comes to the symbolism and the schmaltz, while characters are either white knights or black-hearted businessmen. Then there’s the dialogue. It was very hard to stifle a guffaw when Rush earnestly intones, ‘‘any story like this has to go wrong before it gets better’’.
Similar Australian films like Red Dog and Oddball have charmed audiences by keeping things simple and placing the emphasis on character. Storm Boy fails to fly because it’s saddled with too many ideas, agendas and narratives.