1975 / 115m - Australia
Mystery, Drama
1.5*/5.0*
Picnic at Hanging Rock poster

Watches

October 18, 2020

1.5*/5.0*

A film I've actively avoided for a long time, for the many comparisons with Hadzihalilovic's Innocence. I'm quite fond of that one, but expecting something similar from a film made 30 years earlier would've been quite unfair. Can't avoid the film forever though, so I figured it was time to give one of Weir's most iconic films a shot.

The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of three girls after they went to explore Hanging Rock. The film itself isn't all that myserious though, apart from a handful of scenes it's mostly just a drama that deals with the disappearance and the search for the missing girls.

I get the comparison with Innocence, but Weir struggles to get the atmosphere on point. He aims for a mix of dreamy, mysterious and sinister, but too often it's just cheesy and inane. The drama surrounding the disappearance isn't too exciting either and the performances are mediocre. Weir gets points for trying, but the execution is inadequate.