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South Solitary

movies|south%20solitary|2010-07-29
The year is 1927, and the setting is South Solitary Island - a remote lighthouse island which is cold, rainy, and directly in the path of the Roraing Forties. Meredith Applieton arrives with her uncle, George Wadsworth, the replacement Head Keeper of the lighthouse. She is a 'chin up!' sort of a girl, and she needs to be in these circumstances. Meredith tries to make the best of a bad situation by attemption to make friends with the few occupants of the island. However, with a little bit of time, Meredith finds much more than friendship.

Editorial


It's been a long time coming but Shirley Barrett's third feature has finally arrived. Her debut, Love Serenade, won her the prestigious Caméra d'Or at Cannes in 1996. She was the talk of the town, but the relative failure of her comedy Walk The Talk (2000) saw the director go to ground. Ten years on, South Solitary marks her return to feature directing. Was it worth the wait?

Shedding light on familiar themes of isolation, South Solitary is set on the craggy, desolate island of the same name. Miranda Otto's Meredith arrives, with her uncle George (Barry Otto). He has been brought in to bring wayward lighthouse staff back in line. As his niece becomes acquainted with philanderer Harry (Rohan Nichol) and withdrawn war veteran Fleet (Marton Csokas), George's job gets even harder. Everyone on this island has baggage to hide.

A frothy and light entertainment, full of likable performances and stunning locations, South Solitary could have turned out to be a dire and miserable tale. The solitude of life as a lighthouse keeper doesn't spring to mind as being the basis of a rip-roaring comedy, but Barrett manages to infuse her potentially mournful tale with flourishes of broad humour.

David Michael Brown

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James Graham
August 31, 2010


It is nice to know when films start. It is also nice to know when they finish - many people like to plan for things after the film, you know. Could you please say how long sessions last, or give the finishing time for each session. Dendy does it, so you could too.

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