Under the Lighthouse Dancing
Encyclopedia
Under the Lighthouse Dancing is a 1997
Australia
n romantic drama film
directed by Graeme Rattigan, based on a true story.
near Perth, Western Australia
for the weekend. One of the couples announces that they intend to get married and when the bride-to-be tells the others that she is terminally ill, they make sure the wedding takes place that weekend.
, David Stratton
praised the acting and production design of the film, but said that it had thin material, and that the ending was "hokey".
Australia's SBS
gave the film a negative review concluding that the production "obviously wants to have an emotional impact, it just hasn`t done it very successfully."
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n romantic drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Graeme Rattigan, based on a true story.
Plot
Three couples travel to Rottnest IslandRottnest Island
Rottnest Island is located off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. It is called Wadjemup by the Noongar people, meaning "place across the water". The island is long, and at its widest point with a total land area of . It is classified as an A Class Reserve and is managed by the...
near Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
for the weekend. One of the couples announces that they intend to get married and when the bride-to-be tells the others that she is terminally ill, they make sure the wedding takes place that weekend.
Cast
- Jack ThompsonJack Thompson (actor)Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
as Henry - Jacqueline McKenzieJacqueline McKenzieJacqueline Susan McKenzie is an Australian actress.McKenzie made her film debut in the 1987 film Wordplay and on stage in Child Dancing for Griffin Theatre Company. She made a strong impression in Romper Stomper , and over the next couple of years came to be regarded as one of Australia's most...
as Emma - Naomi WattsNaomi WattsNaomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
as Louise - Philip Holder as Garth
- Zoe BertramZoe BertramZoe Bertram is an Australian actress, whose first major role was in the teen-oriented television soap opera The Restless Years as Olivia Baxter from 1977 to 1981.Bertam has guested in numerous television series and appeared in movies, as well on stage...
as Juliet - Aden GillettAden GillettJohn Aden Gillett is a British actor best known for playing the role of Jack Maddox on the popular BBC series The House of Eliott....
as David - Michael LoneyMichael Loney-British Television:His work includes Tenko, Robin of Sherwood, Coronation Street and Howards' Way .-Australian Television:...
as Father Flynn
Reception
Writing for VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, David Stratton
David Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
praised the acting and production design of the film, but said that it had thin material, and that the ending was "hokey".
Australia's SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
gave the film a negative review concluding that the production "obviously wants to have an emotional impact, it just hasn`t done it very successfully."