Baz Luhrmann’s Australia is a big, loud, often moving mess that wants to be both a period adventure and a political statement about the Stolen Generations. It mostly succeeds at being neither. The film is a strange beast, a 165-minute spectacle that spends as much time on cattle drives as it does on a love triangle and a murder mystery. The result is a movie that is frequently beautiful, occasionally brilliant, and ultimately far too scattered to hold together.
Trailer, via HDTrailersOfficial.
Lady Sarah and The Drover
Nicole Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who inherits a failing cattle station called Faraway Downs. She comes to Australia to force her philandering husband to sell the property, but her husband is murdered before she arrives. Hugh Jackman plays The Drover, a stockman sent to guide her to the station. Their reluctant pact becomes the spine of the film, though the chemistry between them is often buried under the noise.
The setup is promising. A noblewoman forced to navigate a harsh Australian frontier, a stoic drover who knows the land better than anyone, a vast cattle station that needs saving. That premise could sustain a lean, character-driven drama. Instead, Luhrmann piles on.
The Bombing of Darwin
The film’s best sequences involve the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces in 1942. The destruction is rendered with a sense of scale that the rest of the picture lacks, and the scenes of civilians scrambling through the chaos are genuinely affecting. But the war is a backdrop, not the main story, and Luhrmann keeps pulling focus back to the cattle drive and the personal drama.
The film also touches on the government policy of seizing half-caste Aboriginal children, a real historical tragedy known as the Stolen Generations. This is where Australia tries hardest to be something more than entertainment. The story follows a half-Aboriginal boy named Nullah, played by Brandon Walters, whose family is targeted by authorities. Lady Sarah comforts him by singing “Over the Rainbow,” and Nullah tells her that King George, an Aboriginal elder, is his grandfather and a “magic man.” It’s a heavy-handed moment, but it lands because the film has spent enough time establishing the stakes.
What Works, What Doesn’t
The film is at its best when it commits to its emotional core. The relationship between Lady Sarah and Nullah, and the grief that comes with it, is handled with restraint. The cattle drive itself is a logistical marvel, with a team of seven riders, including The Drover’s Aboriginal brother-in-law Magarri, leading 1,500 head of cattle across unforgiving landscape. The obstacles are real: a fire set by Carney’s men that kills the station’s accountant Kipling Flynn.
Where Australia stumbles is in its ambition. The film is overstuffed with subplots — the cattle drive, the bombing of Darwin, the murder investigation, the romance between Lady Sarah and The Drover, the politics of Faraway Downs, the plight of Nullah — and none of them get the room they need. The pacing suffers badly. Scenes that should feel tense drag, while quieter moments that should land fall flat.
The supporting cast is strong. David Wenham is excellent as Neil Fletcher, the station manager who schemes to sell Faraway Downs to meat tycoon Lesley ‘King’ Carney. David Gulpilil brings dignity to King George. Bryan Brown is memorable as King Carney himself. But even their performances can’t rescue the film’s structural problems.
- The cattle drive is a logistical marvel.
- The bombing of Darwin is rendered with scale.
- The Nullah subplot is heavy-handed but heartfelt.
- The pacing suffers badly.
| Element | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Cattle drive sequences | Scale, tension | Overlong, distracting |
| Darwin bombing scenes | Emotional weight | Too brief, overshadowed |
| Nullah subplot | Heart, authenticity | Heavy-handed, rushed |
| Overall pacing | None | Too slow in stretches, too fast in others |
A Mixed Legacy
Australia was a commercial disappointment. It grossed $211 million worldwide, which is respectable but far below expectations for a film of this scale. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and its reputation has only declined over time.
The film’s failure is not just about box office numbers. It’s about a movie that tried to do too much and ended up doing none of it justice. The Stolen Generations storyline, which could have been a powerful piece of history, is reduced to a sentimental device. The cattle drive, which could have been a thrilling adventure, becomes a slog. The romance, which could have anchored the whole thing, gets lost in the shuffle.
On 26 November 2023, an extended version of the film, titled Faraway Downs, debuted on Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar and Hulu. Presented as a six-episode mini-series, it offers a longer look at the story, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem of the film’s shape.
Australia is a film of many strengths and one glaring weakness: it can’t decide what it wants to be. It’s a sweeping epic, a love story, a historical drama, and a political statement, all at once. None of those ambitions are fully realized.
The film is worth watching for its craft, its performances, and its occasional flashes of genuine feeling. But it’s a film that demands patience and rewards only intermittently. It’s a movie that feels bigger than it is, and that’s the problem.
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