Review: Somersault

Meet Heidi. She's 16, she's attractive & she knows how to use sex to get what she wants. When things turn sour at home, she runs away to a nearby town. She gets a job at the local petrol station and a place behind a local motel. She confuses sex and intimacy, which is what she wants. She meets Joe, a farmer, who doesn't really know what he wants...

Somersault is getting quite a bit of media attention here because it was written and directed by a local (Cate Shortland) and was shot locally (Canberran locations include Kambah shops, flashes of Civic and the Belconnen bus interchange). It was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival & sold to 13 countries.

I liked how it was shot & scored. The cold, bleak locations of Canberra and Jindabyne echo the loveless situation Heidi finds herself in. What little warmth she gets she gets from Joe and Irene the motel owner.

Don't go into Somersault if you're looking to switch your brain off for an hour and a half. Don't go if you're looking for all of the loose strings to be neatly tied up. See it if you're willing to be moved, and most likely not in a nice way.

Somersault
Rated: MA
Running Time: 106 min

What Margaret, David (& others) thought of Somersault.

Peter Thompson's review of Somersault on Sunday 19 Sep 04

(For Canberrans) Electric Shadows screening times for Somersault.

Update 20 Sep 04: The Sydney Morning Herald has published an interview with writer/director Cate Shortland.