The Shiralee
by George Ogilvie
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Lorna Lesley, Noni Hazlehurst, Rebecca SmartDirector: George Ogilvie
Brand: Acorn
Writer: D'Arcy Niland
Writer: Tony Morphett
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-03-10
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of The Shiralee
Movie Review: HEARTWARMING STORY OF A VAGABOND FATHER & YOUNG DAUGHTER DUO
Summary: 5 Stars
In the same awesome landscape beauty of "Rain Shadow" this DVD, "The Shiralee", will touch your senses and then your emotions. Again, like "Rain Shadow", the action takes place down-under, in the Australian outback. This time the story lead is a rough Aussie bloke, rather than a female vet. Byran Brown (from the recent 2008 movie "Australia") plays "Mac" Macauley. His manner is backwoods-bush, but his performance is 5-star. He will evoke just about every emotion from hatred to love as he takes on life wildly and eventually the responsibility of a 9-year old daughter. Don't cross Mac, he packs a mean punch, often.
Lily (Noni Hazlehurst)is his true love, from first sight, but alas, do you know how hard it is to hang on to good love in the outback? Tough, like the country, like the men. Lily is tough too.
The wonderful star and joy of "the Shiralee" is Buster, the child of Mac, played by Rebecca Smart. What a great job by a young girl. Buster is the Pollyanna of the Outback. Like Dorothy of Oz, she takes on life in her own way, tough if needed, sweet often, and in love with her dad--no matter what. Her smile is as wide as the Australian bush horizon. How dare Mac consider Buster a Shiralee (burden).
What a delight to find this story on film. Acorn has done a wonderful job of presentation. OK, one negative, no English sub-titles for us blokes that can't catch all of the down-under slang and dialect. But it's not a huge problem. Use reverse if needed. It is sure not worth turning your back on this delightful and heartwarming tale of father and daughter.
It's not your normal "Father Knows Best" 40s/50s story of Dad and girl. Actually, Mac has a hard time taking care of Buster since his desire and ambition is walking the road and roaming for work and a livelihood. He takes his daughter to spite his wife, and has to learn parenthood on the road. Many time he relates to Buster miserably. At these points, Mac deserves the viewers rage and hate. Mac is just to tough on Buster, to lacking of empathy. Mac shows almost no love or tender emotion to the young child. Boo, Hiss, for the dad. Then, Buster will chew on him a bit, smile wide, and all is well for a few more dusty kilometers on the road.
Before the 3+ hours are over, you will begin to wonder why you bothered watching the nasty, beastly-dad, Mac. But don't give up, enjoy the drama, the scenery, and eventually you'll come to find out why this is a 5-STAR film, worthy of the $$$ and time.
There is absolutely no reason why someone can't write a sequel. D'Arcy Niland wrote the novel. "Siralee" (Aussie slang for "burden") leaves the viewer with their own Siralee. No more segments of hardships to overcome for this "Odd-couple road pair".
I recommend buying. Then, consider "Rain Shadow."
Summary of The Shiralee
Seen on Masterpiece Theatre and the Disney Channel
In the Australian outback, a father and daughter find the meaning of family
In Australian slang, "shiralee" means "burden." It also describes how itinerant laborer "Mac" Macauley (Bryan Brown, Gorillas in the Mist, Cocktail) thinks of his nine-year-old daughter, Buster (Rebecca Smart, Blackrock). Proud and stubborn, Mac ekes out a living--sometimes with his fists--on the dusty roads of the 1940s and ?50s outback, with Buster in tow. Together they befriend a number of colorful characters, and Lily (Noni Hazlehurst, Little Fish), a lovely rancher as maddeningly willful as Mac. At times grudgingly, Mac and Buster forge a father-daughter bond that hunger and hardship cannot break.
Based on D?Arcy Niland?s international bestseller, The Shiralee captures the wry humor and rugged independence of the Australian frontier, as well as the tenderness at the heart of a most unusual family.
Based on D?Arcy Niland?s novel, The Shiralee is an earlier project of star Bryan Brown, who was also in the recently released blockbuster Australia. Set in the gorgeous, grassy Australian bush, this three-hour long saga takes a slow, subtle approach to its story, which centers around rugged individualist, Mac Macauley (Brown), and his good-natured nine-year old daughter, Buster (Rebecca Smart). Early in this miniseries, which is set in the 1940s, Macauley is on a walkabout searching for work when he happens upon a family who adopts him as their own. Here, his employer?s daughter, Lily (Noni Hazelhurst), develops a deep bond with Macauley that lasts throughout the film, even as Macauley leaves town to begin a new life with an unsavory wife during his stint as a carousing, stubborn boxer. Mid-story, Macauley and his new daughter are relative strangers, and the thrust of The Shiralee begins when he is forced to leave his home to start new wanderings with his "burden" ("shiralee" is an Aboriginal term meaning "burden") Buster. Though Macauley does have the occasional friend, he mostly goes it alone, with his daughter by his side, much to the disagreement of some who feel she needs security. When the latter half of the story sets in, Macauley is faced with poverty and a severely ill daughter. Here, his old friend, Marge (Lorna Lesley), a mother figure, steps in, and the father-daughter bond is strengthened to new heights. Each of the dramas in Macauley?s life builds incrementally to describe the hardship he endures and his commitment to his small family. Though this program is frustratingly slow-paced at times, the lush landscape on screen and the lovely score throughout lends The Shiralee a calming sensibility that is a relief from action-packed melodrama. Brown?s portrayal of such a complex character is a pleasure to experience. The Shiralee gives one a feeling, even if fictionalized, for what life in the Australian bush used to consist of, and anyone with an interest in discovering this history may enjoy a glimpse into this film?s well-rendered universe. --Trinie Dalton
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