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Down Wonder

Fans of Baz Luhrmann know what to expect from his movies. Playfully sweeping cameras, big, heartfelt emotions, and lots of spectacular spectacle. Subtlety, not so much. The multi-hyphenate director doesn't release a film often (his last was 2001's fab musical potpourri "Moulin Rouge!"), so when he does it's usually something to look out for. "Australia" is his first crack at a true epic - a film in the tradition of "Lawrence of Arabia", and a clear love story to his homeland, set against the backdrop of World War II. While it isn't quite the classic it hopes to be, "Australia" paints a vivid portrait of the titular continent during an important period of history, and it tells a good (if mostly familiar) story along the way.

Set in the continent's Northern Territory where, as the opening scrawl points out, "adventure and romance are a way of life", "Australia" introduces Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), a brittle British aristocratic whose husband fancies a dalliance or two Down Under. Fed up with his philandering ways, Lady Sarah ventures to the remote Aussie outpost of Darwin to confront him. No sooner does she arrive at the family farm (the aptly-named Faraway Downs) than she discovers all is not well: her husband's been killed, the farm's bankrupt, and her cattle are routinely being stolen under the less-than-watchful eye of corrupt law enforcement.

Lady Sarah's guide through the country's famously unforgiving landscape is simply known as The Drover ("droving", for those of us outside the cattle game, is the act of driving or herding cattle). As played by Hugh Jackman, settling into his native accent, The Drover is a solitary, but wholly non-threatening, man's man with constant stubble and an adorable "crikey!" for every occasion (natch, he also looks good in a tux).

Comparisons to "The African Queen" should be expected, if not entirely desired. Ironically, Mr. Luhrmann's two leads may be the film's weakest point. Mr. Jackman and Ms. Kidman are so "modern" that they almost feel anachronistic. Compare Bogie's ragged riverboat captain to Mr. Jackman's sculpted cattle rustler. Meanwhile, when Ms. Kidman plays exasperation - as she must for the first third of the film - she resorts to a strange kind of braying. It's telling that her performance made me wonder how Cate Blanchett might have tackled the role (and not just because she played Hepburn in "The Aviator"). Happily, Ms. Kidman warms up later in the film, and an awkward moment in which she must relate the story of "The Wizard of Oz" reminds us what a fine actress she can still be.

Amusingly, these two above-the-title stars have the movie all but stolen out from under them by none other than a twelve-year-old boy. Newcomer Brandon Walters, with his deep, preternaturally-knowing eyes and playful smile, plays Nullah, a young "half-caste" (half-Caucasian, half-Aboriginal) who becomes the couple's ostensible son over the course of the film. There's some good work here developing the racism of the time which is, happily, not overplayed.

Allusions to "African Queen" disappear later in the film when it becomes an Aussie "City Slickers" as The Drover, Lady Sarah, et al, must drive their herd to the designated pick-up point to outsmart a ruthless Aussie rancher (Bryan Brown, hamming it up nicely). As you might except, there's a fantastic stampede sequence.

After a midpoint that could have been a respectable ending, the script - which clocks in at a healthy 165 minutes - ironically hurries to tie up loose ends. It's a tribute to Mr. Luhrmann, and his actors, that the film doesn't feel its length. As it did in "Moulin", Mr. Luhrmann's camera swoops in and around the proceedings in a feat of beautifully visual storytelling, injecting a welcome amount of humor into what could have been as dry as the Outback.

If he could update The Bard with "Romeo and Juliet" and reinvent the musical with "Moulin", then perhaps Mr. Luhrmann can modernize the epic as well. References to David Lean and John Ford (several doorway shots are pure "Searchers") abound, but it's Mr. Luhrmann's own winking style that makes the film work. He clearly hopes "Australia" can join the ranks of "Arabia" or "Gone with the Wind" and, while it never reaches the coveted heights of the classics, it hits the right notes along the way. And as we saw in "Moulin Rouge!", Mr. Luhrmann knows something about hitting the right notes.