“A slow yet heart-warming ride to finding reasons for
living.”
A salt-and-pepper taxi driver dying of stomach cancer
embarks on a road trip in Jeremy Sims’ Last
Cab to Darwin. Adapted from Reg Cribb’s stage play of the same title, this
low-key heart-warming road drama offers universal lessons on loneliness, pain,
anger, and love, as well as a breathtaking depiction of Australian rural
lifestyle and culture.
Rex McRae (Michael Caton) is an aging loner who has never
left the mining town of Broken Hill. He lives alone with his dog named Dog and
his collection of vinyl records. Other than driving his taxi around town, he spends his time frequenting the local pub with his best buddies – Simmo (John Howard), Col (Alan Dukes), and Dougie (David Field). Unknown to everyone, Rex shares romantic
moments with Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf), an aboriginal woman who lives across
the road. Occasionally, they surreptitiously hold hands while sipping their
morning cup of beer in Rex’s porch.
However, a doctor’s diagnosis reveals that Rex has only
three months to live because of stomach cancer. Incidentally, he hears Dr.
Nicole Farmer (Jacki Weaver) on a radio discussing of a self-assisted suicide
she is attempting to have legalized. Promptly, Rex packs up and drives 2,000
miles to Dr. Farmer’s clinic in Darwin. After his windshield is smashed along
his journey, indigenous drifter Tilly (Mark Coles Smith) joins his
cross-country trip to pursue his own dreams, as well as
London-based-nurse-turned-backpacker Julie (Emma Hamilton) who offers to take
care of him. Upon arriving at their destination, Rex makes an eleventh-hour
realization and surprises the people he cares about with his decisions.
Last Cab to Darwin is
an intriguing portrayal of people and places. It is a slow, deliberate ride but
a worthy one. Conversations dominate most of the film and the actors are adept
in their individual roles. Caton, with his massive beer belly and endearing
brusqueness, carries Rex in natural and effortless manner. He is mostly tacit
but everytime he churns a word, there is such command and power. Smith
complements him as the garrulous and aimless Tilly. Their exchanges keep the
movie dynamic and appealing.
The film is quite unsympathetic with the issue of
euthanasia. It treats the subject in a scientific and detached way. Weaver is
custom-fitted as Dr. Palmer. Her glassy eyes and uncaring demeanors personify her
own clinical treatment. Lawford-Wolf is her exact opposite; she has so much
vigor, passion, and life as Polly. Her nags are a little irritable in the
beginning but her secret sweet moments with Rex are tender, touchy and
rousing.
The location and camera works suited the film’s themes. The
dusky photography very well captures the natural charm and isolation of bush
towns and rural communities. The slow scores also add up extra melancholy.
Last Cab to Darwin
is a comic yet sensitive film about euthanasia. The characters are as authentic
as its organic locations. There is a beautiful marriage of the two that
watching the movie is a relaxing joyful ride.
Production: Pork Chop Productions
Cast: Michael Caton, Ningali Lawford-Wolf,
Mark Coles Smith, Emma Hamilton, David Field, John Howard, Alan Dukes, Jacki
Weaver
Director: Jeremy Sims
Writers: Reg Cribb, Jeremy Sims
Producers: Greg Duffy, Lisa Duff, Jeremy
Sims
Executive producers: Ned Lander, Andrew
Myer, Edward Simpson, Mark Nelson, Michael Burton, Ian Darling, Jon Adgemis,
Prue MacLeod, Chris Cuffe, Natasha Cuffe
Director of photography: Steve Arnold
Production designer: Clayton Jauncey
Editor: Marcus D’Arcy
Costume designer: Jane Johnston
Composer: Ed Kuepper
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