With Craig Silvey adapting his own novel for the screen, Jasper Jones brings to the masses on of Australia's biggest and most acclaimed novels of the past few years. While the novel and the play that followed in its wake, Jasper Jones the film struggles to find whatever it is that makes both of its siblings so damn powerful and memorable.
Charlie Bucktin (Levi Miller) is a bit of an outsider living in a small country town in 1969 Western Australia. Jeffrey Lu (played by a newcomer whose name I have since forgotten and isn't listed anywhere online (a bloody crime I tell ya)), an even weirder kid and the only Asian in town, is his only friend. When Jasper Jones (Aaron L. McGrath) appears at Charlie's window one night, the bookish innocent's life is turned upside as he is forced to grow up.
Look, if you like your coming of age stories, your inoffensive dramas or Australian cinema, Jasper Jones will be a delight. Even if you don't, there is just enough here to keep most audiences engaged and entertained.
The screen is warmly lit with the colours and images of Australia's bush on show. In it, though, there is a sense of isolation that comes from living in the middle of nowhere and with that, more importantly, comes a small-minded boredom.
The people of this town are small in every sense of the word. Some are smart enough to see how the world works, most barely notice as the world passes by. There are countless opportunities for something greater with this but the exploration, dramas and tension that could have elevated this are pushed to the wayside as the film firmly plants itself in Charlie's point of view.
Fortunately, this gives Miller a chance to shine as the hero of the story. He's more than believable as the child being forced to grow up. He never goes too far and often finds a nice balance between the childish, the mature and the reasonable. The film may not leave much of Charlie to hang these weights on (and arguably, there isn't even that much to be hung) but that's no fault of Millers.
Surrounding him though is a stable of Australia's biggest, best and most hard-working talents. Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving both bring their game with what little they have but it's the small characters that really make the world. Jeffrey Lu (actor as yet unknown) wins the crowd with some of the film's best and most palpable scenes. Dan Wyllie, on the other hand, brings the subdued by no less impactful heart to the film.
Ultimately, though, I just don't really know where to leave this one. It's a story that is so universally recognisable with themes so universally accessible it's near impossible not to like something about it the film. Similarly, everything here is just good. Not great but good. At least enough that you'll not be excited, offended or emboldened by it. Maybe that's what it is; a film without tempo, peaks or valleys. It plateaus its way through your awareness and before you know it, you'll have enjoyed Jeffrey Lu's debut. And a murder mystery or two, too.
With Craig Silvey adapting his own novel for the screen, Jasper Jones brings to the masses on of Australia's biggest and most acclaimed novels of the past few years. While the novel and the play that followed in its wake, Jasper Jones the film struggles to find whatever it is that makes both of its siblings so damn powerful and memorable.
Charlie Bucktin (Levi Miller) is a bit of an outsider living in a small country town in 1969 Western Australia. Jeffrey Lu (played by a newcomer whose name I have since forgotten and isn't listed anywhere online (a bloody crime I tell ya)), an even weirder kid and the only Asian in town, is his only friend. When Jasper Jones (Aaron L. McGrath) appears at Charlie's window one night, the bookish innocent's life is turned upside as he is forced to grow up.
Look, if you like your coming of age stories, your inoffensive dramas or Australian cinema, Jasper Jones will be a delight. Even if you don't, there is just enough here to keep most audiences engaged and entertained.
The screen is warmly lit with the colours and images of Australia's bush on show. In it, though, there is a sense of isolation that comes from living in the middle of nowhere and with that, more importantly, comes a small-minded boredom.
The people of this town are small in every sense of the word. Some are smart enough to see how the world works, most barely notice as the world passes by. There are countless opportunities for something greater with this but the exploration, dramas and tension that could have elevated this are pushed to the wayside as the film firmly plants itself in Charlie's point of view.
Fortunately, this gives Miller a chance to shine as the hero of the story. He's more than believable as the child being forced to grow up. He never goes too far and often finds a nice balance between the childish, the mature and the reasonable. The film may not leave much of Charlie to hang these weights on (and arguably, there isn't even that much to be hung) but that's no fault of Millers.
Surrounding him though is a stable of Australia's biggest, best and most hard-working talents. Toni Collette and Hugo Weaving both bring their game with what little they have but it's the small characters that really make the world. Jeffrey Lu (actor as yet unknown) wins the crowd with some of the film's best and most palpable scenes. Dan Wyllie, on the other hand, brings the subdued by no less impactful heart to the film.
Ultimately, though, I just don't really know where to leave this one. It's a story that is so universally recognisable with themes so universally accessible it's near impossible not to like something about it the film. Similarly, everything here is just good. Not great but good. At least enough that you'll not be excited, offended or emboldened by it. Maybe that's what it is; a film without tempo, peaks or valleys. It plateaus its way through your awareness and before you know it, you'll have enjoyed Jeffrey Lu's debut. And a murder mystery or two, too.
