Nicole Kidman is a study in contrast, an elegant woman in real life, who turned to plastic surgery. Whose earlier works were warm and beautiful now turned ice princess. Australia, Baz Luhrmann's epic flop wouldn't have been such a flop if it was made a few decades ago and maybe for a few million dollars less. The story is typical of that era. The shots are sweeping, the characters are typical, the hero is heroic and the bad guys are bad guys through and through. I kind of enjoyed it except for the fact that most of the time, the screen was filled with Nicole Kidman's artificially plumped up lips and forehead.(sometimes it was really freaky, especially when she tried expressions that involved some sort of botox inhibited muscles to work) Hugh Jackman was yum yum yum and the kid was cute. But again too many cliches and too little substance made this movie a so so weekday night timepass instead of the soaring epic it was meant to be.
Story: English aristocratic lady comes to Australia and the property left by her dead husband, meets bad guys who want her land. Some "how bad it was for the aborigines scenes" come in between. Meets macho cattle guy who helps her, they do some romantic stuff, save the day and a cute aborigine kid a few times and among typical "mysterious brown/black people voodoo stuff" let him go. Being an Indian and having every "mysterious brown/black people voodoo stuff" attributed to us. [snakes, poisons, curses, tantra, yoga, kundalinis and chakras and even the art of living :)] I think it was a little typical and not very well portrayed.
6/10
