Billie
and Laura are the best of friends; they have known each other all of their
lives and would do anything for the other.
The two girls are so close to each other that in their conversations no
topic is taboo, nor do they have any secrets……except one: Billie is madly in
love with Laura’s boyfriend Danny and the two of them are sleeping together
behind her back. One day after Billie’s
mum takes in Isaac, a Tongan teenager who is on his last chance with the law,
it upsets the balance between the two girl’s friendship as Laura starts to take
a liking to Isaac and begins to spend time with him. This upsets Billie greatly, who starts
feeling betrayed by her best friend (ironic considering she is sleeping with
her boyfriend) which causes an anger to build within her. In an attempt to not have to deal with her
problems, Billie becomes more and more reckless with her life, often in
conjunction with the use of drugs and alcohol.
One night while at a party totally plastered, Billie decides to it would
be cool to steal a car and go for a joyride.
Fearing the worst, Laura grabs Isaac in an attempt to talk her out of
it, but instead they end up in the car with Billie and Danny. As predicted, the mix of alcohol and speeding
doesn’t turn out to be a good thing, and Billie ends up rolling the car. Thankfully everyone survives the crash (which
is miraculous considering Laura is thrown from the car) and are even able to
run from the wreckage, but the consequences of this night and this single
reckless act are going to haunt the group forever.
This was
actually a beautiful little film dealing with a lot of complex human emotions,
mainly told from a female perspective.
The characters are all at an age (they are in their final year of high
school) where it is time for them to grow up and become responsible for their
own lives, as well as the consequences of the decisions they make. It is at a time in their lives when the world
suddenly seems so big, and they so small and they have to find their place in
it. While some welcome the future with
open arms, others prefer to live in the glow of the past and refuse to move
on. The friendship between Billie and
Laura is the absolute heart of the film, and the way it has been depicted feels
so completely real. Obviously I have
never been a teenage girl, but from an outsider’s perspective every nuance
displayed within this relationship feels honest and true. Just little moments like the girls lying on
each other, or playing absentmindedly with each other’s hair, or even talking
in a kind of short hand; it just felt genuine, even when it came to the negative
aspects of the relationship such as the jealousy within the friendship, or when
the two of them are having an argument and the other uses things they have been
told in secret against them.
The two
actors who play the roles of Billie and Laura are both fabulous and do justice
to their complex roles. Ashleigh
Cummings and Lily Sullivan play the girls and they have a real chemistry
together that is vital for the film to work on any level. There is no doubting through these
performances that these girls have been friends for their entire lifetime; they
just sell it perfectly. Cummings ends up
with the more difficult role as Billie is the one that slowly unravels as her
actions become more and more reckless to herself and those around her. She suddenly becomes dangerous to be around
and she doesn’t take into account the consequences of her actions. Cummings does a brilliant job of portraying a
girl on the edge, a powder-keg ready to explode; she has so much bottled up
inside that eventually it is all going to come out which it does when Billie
hits rock bottom after a tragedy befalls the group of friends. While Sullivan has the less showy role, she
is just as good as her counterpart. She
gives Laura a much quieter presence than Billie, but makes it obvious how much
she loves her friend whilst at the same time being hurt by her. There is a moment late in the film when she
confronts Billie and lets her know just how hurt she is by her actions, which
is just masterful acting. She doesn’t
rant, rave or scream, so just quietly lets Billie know that she knows, but the
hurt is all behind her eyes.
When it
comes to the male characters of the film, they are significantly underwritten
compared to the girls, but really this is not their story. They happen to be a part of the story, but it
isn’t really theirs. However when it
comes to the performances, they are still very good. Isaac is played by newcomer Aliki Matangi who
gives the troubled boy a calm and quiet presence who understands just how lucky
he is to have gotten this final chance with the law and is determined to make
his life better. However he is also a
guy who would do anything for his friends which ultimately seems to get him
into trouble. Matangi also does a great
job of exposing Isaac’s shyness around this girl he really likes but is unsure
whether the feeling is mutual. Toby
Wallace’s Danny is another troubled boy because he is a man that wants
everything while trying not to hurt anyone and as such he is constantly trying
to dodge the consequences of his actions by not coming clean to Laura. He also has a scene late in the film where he
breaks down and lets everything out that he has been bottling up, which is also
quite impressive.
Another
part of the film that is so good is the photography by Stefan Duscio who gives
Canberra a beautiful sun-drenched look about it. All of the shots have a real crisp and fresh
look to them, and the use of the widescreen is just expert and I love the way
he has lit the girls; they look gorgeous.
Something else that is outside the norm (the first being that the film
is located and set in Canberra), is the presence of a giant bushfire in the
film. The fire itself is never front and
centre in the film, but it is always felt and forever in the background. Many a time smoke is seen in the distance,
with news reports on the television constantly talking about the dangers of the
fire. The kids never think about the
fire once, but it is always there, and via Billie’s voice-over we know that the
town where the film’s story takes place, is going to be a victim of the
bushfire after the film is done. It
gives a feeling of dread to the film as well as making the character’s realize
that life is not infinite and we are only on this world for a short time, so
use that time wisely.
Overall
I was very impressed by the way director Rhys Graham sensitively handled this
beautiful story of two girls and their friendship, as they finally start to
realize that their actions can have serious consequences. The performances in “Galore” are all
wonderful, but a special mention must be made to Ashley Cummings and Lily
Sullivan for their brave and flawless performances as the two girls Billie and
Laura. A funny anecdote regarding
“Galore” was that the stars of the film were all present at the screening I
attended, and as I was passing Cummings after the conclusion of the film, she
turned to a friend and said “Aww, everybody hates me!” (in regards to her
characters irresponsibility) which I thought was both cute and funny. “Galore” is a fantastic Australian drama that
deserves to be recognized for how great it is.
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