Peaches

Cast: Hugo Weaving, Jacqueline McKenzie, Emma Lung,
Director: Craig Monahan
Screenplay: Sue Smith
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Rated: TBA
Running Time: 106 Minutes

The Closer You Look The More You Will Find

Synopsis:
From Craig Monahan, the AFI award winning director of "The Interview" and starring a top-notch cast of established Australian actors including Hugo Weaving and Jacqueline Mackenzie and emerging talent Emma Lung, "Peaches" is a warm, passionate and often funny portrayal of three intertwined love stories spanning two decades. Teenage Steph has never left the borders of her small orchard town, growing up in the shadows of the local peach cannery and living with her over-protective adoptive mother Jude. Yet Steph's eyes are opened when she receives her late mother Jass' diary as a birthday gift, and she begins to discover her family's colourful, sexier past.

My Verdict:
Filmed in South Australia, 'Peaches' plays like a "spot-the-location" where locations include the Riverland, Stirling Hotel, Lenswood and Port Noarlunga. Funded locally and using mainly South Australian talent, this Australian production looks very much like something made for television and not for the big screen and it fails because it hasn't pushed the boundaries enough and doesn't have the big impact it so desperately needs. But it is still a nice, warm movie that is interesting enough.

'Peaches' centres on Steph, who lives with her single adoptive movie Jude. Jude was best friends with Steph's mother, Jass, who was killed in a car crash with Steph's father, just before giving birth, and Steph somehow survived the crash and was adopted by Jude. Steph has reached the age where she questions her origins after being given her mothers diary and looks for the answers that will fill in the gaps in her life. Jude has always been a little over-protective and not forthcoming with information about Steph's parents and so Steph seeks the facts beyond the confines of her home, asking anyone she thinks might have the answers in her small fruit-growing country town. This leads her to the fruit cannery manager, where she is now employed, who had a relationship with Jude when they were younger.

What 'Peaches' lacks, is dynamism in its story. There is no real dark hidden secret to Steph's past, what she discovers is rather mundane but does inspire her to discover the world beyond her town. Steph develops a relationship with the cannery manager, which becomes intimate and that implicates the story somewhat, adding at least some spice to the story.

Emma Lung plays Steph with a lively, fresh approach, Jacqueline McKenzie is a strong steady Jude and Hugo Weaving is Alan, the cannery manager.The support cast are generally good bar for some terrible overacting from Catherine Lambert.

'Peaches' darts back and forth from the present to the past, which does make it confusing at times. It is at least an Australian production that is not cringe worthy and for that it is to be applauded, but unfortunately it may not reach a large audience who could appreciate the effort.

Rating : ***

Christina Bruce