WHERE WERE YOU WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED?

Tomorrow, When The War Began directed by Stuart Beattie

The cast arrive at the Melbourne premiere on August 11, 2010. (From left, Caitlin Stasey, Lincoln Lewis, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Chris Pang, Andy Ryan, Deniz Akdeniz, Ashleigh Cummings & Phoebe Tonkin).

 As a young Australian who's very into movies, it's sometimes hard to watch home grown Aussie films and television because, well, they're just crap. Okay...that's generalising. There are some good ones out there, but they're rare. Most of the time, witnessing these atrocities seems to physically hurt me. At the core of it, it's just sheer embarrassment that varies in its level of humiliation from a slight cringe to full blown hysteria. For example, when subjected to a few uncomfortable minutes of Cops L.A.C., you'd see me with eyebrows raised, a subtle mocking smile and probably a slight head shaking motion as if to say "I cannot believe people have paid actual dollars to produce this hideous excuse for entertainment." Or something along those lines. On the other hand, there was the shocking Australia's Next Top Model incident just two nights ago which had me on my knees on the living room floor, pulling at my hair with both hands and shouting words like "disaster," "catastophe" and "suicide." When a bad Australian example of filmmaking is released into the world, I feel personally ashamed. But when a good one comes around, my heart swells with glowing pride that may even match that of a patriot-crazed American.


Chris Pang & Caitlin Stasey.

Tomorrow, When The War Began is one such example. The first chapter of John Marsden's much-loved Tomorrow series has been adapted for the screen in the most genius way. I have to admit right here and now that I have not read the series. I have read the first book, and am currently reading the second, The Dead of Night. Of course, I disciplined myself into reading the book before seeing the movie, but it was a close thing. The trailer was amazing and I almost buckled under the allure. It made the film look like serious blockbuster material; the fact that it's Australian just increased the attraction. It was like it was saying to the world "Here, come and observe this fine Aussie film, and see that we really know our shit." I had a similar feeling upon seeing Baz Luhrmann's masterpiece Australia, but this was on another scale. In part, it's because it's a movie made from a book series...but mostly it's the fact that the 7 (later becomes 8) lead roles belong to teenagers. Australian teenagers. I'm an Australian teenager. How much more relatable can it get? And better yet, these guys are depicted kicking ass! They've got guns, they wear camouflage...and they're placed in a situation that young people only ever live out in video game format. Sure, the plot's horrible, it's a terrifying notion and if it ever really happened I'd be the first one to burst into tears and hide under my bed BUT when it's in a movie, it's a whole other ball game. You can pretend all you like, but the idea of no parents, no rules and a bunch of bad guys lurking around that you not only have unspoken permission to kill, but the patriotic person within is encouraging you to do so is undeniably exciting. It's not so much the concept of killing, taking life. It's more about defending your land, your home, your loved ones. Doing all you can to survive and hurt whoever's trying to destroy your way of life as much as you can. Becoming a hero, which every single person fantasises about in some shape or form. That's what the Tomorrow series is about; stepping up and fighting against a gargantuan force against all odds, making a difference and working towards freedom. 

Lincoln Lewis & Rachel Hurd-Wood.

Okay, so here's the basic rundown: Ellie Linton (Caitlin Stasey) is a rural Aussie teen, and loves her simple farm life (I know, I don't get it either). She and her best friend Corrie Mackenzie (Rachel Hurd-Wood) are keen to do something really mature with boys and everything (ooooo) so they organise a camping trip with 5 other mates from the country into pretty dangerous and uncharted territory: Hell. Hell's actually just a bush area with a creek at the bottom of some rough terrain (Satan's Steps). Soon, the whole gang head down there and have a great time exploring, camping out, flirting...you know, all the usual stuff. During this time Ellie and the others hear a bunch of planes overhead, but think nothing of it. A week later, they regrettably emerge from their hide-away campsite to head back to reality. It's not long before they realise something's terribly wrong. All their pets are dead, their parents gone, their houses empty and void of electricity or dial tones. Pretty soon the group come to the conclusion that the country they love has been invaded by an unknown enemy and for some reason their small town of Wirrawee has been targeted. The whereabouts of their families is the first concern, and so they travel to the Showground to find out more. Upon their arrival, they see that all of the prisoners are being held captive at the grounds, heavily guarded by armed soldiers. From here on in, it's a rush of bullets, explosions, car chases and careful sneaking missions on foot for the group of 7, who become 8 when they discover fellow classmate Chris Lang (Andy Ryan) hiding out on his property. These 8 teens band together to take on what seems like an unstoppable force, and it's absolutely brilliant viewing.

Phoebe Tonkin & Deniz Akdeniz.

 There are moments when even the characters can't seem to hide their excitement when something goes their way, so the audience certainly can't either. Aside from the awful nature of it, this movie is a fun thrill ride of epic proportions with astounding stunts and awesome explosions. But even without that, it's a great film. I'll say that whilst some individual actors have missed the mark, as an ensemble, the cast were fantastic at portraying their teen angst in extraordinary circumstances, whilst still dishing out some stellar comic relief. The stand outs are Stasey, with her willowy looks and a face made for serious contemplation. This girl was the perfect Ellie; just enough innocence to make her seem average but with a ferocity and determination that all young women aspire to. Next in line is the remarkable Deniz Akdeniz who plays Homer Yannos, the Greek bad-boy who becomes a sort of leader through the devastation. I mentioned comic relief before; go no further than this dude right here. He did an ace job...I cannot think of a better Homer, real or imaginary. Hurd-Wood was quite good as Corrie, as was Home and Away's Lincoln Lewis as her boyfriend Kevin Holmes and Phoebe Tonkin was perfection as the prissy but powerful Fiona Maxwell. Now onto the people I had a problem with. One of the most important characters in the book, Ellie's love interest Lee Takkam was demolished by Chris Pang. Perhaps that's a bit harsh...he had moments that were acceptable but in my book, that's not really good enough. Lee was supossed to be mysterious, intriguing...vastly intelligent and basically your definition of Deep Thought. But watching Pang on screen, I felt none of this. In fact, I felt kind of awkward. His delivery of Lee's emotional and meaningful lines fell flat and in some cases were just laughable. Then there was Ryan's confused interpretation of Chris. I can't really explain what happened there. Let's just say that in scenes where he wasn't speaking, he was great. The phrase "over the top" just doesn't quite cut it with Ryan's acting skills. Last but not least, you have little Ashleigh Cummings as bible-hugging Robyn Mathers. I know "little" is a bit rich since she's actually 17, but in this movie she looks about 12. At times I found myself wondering why one of the gang invited their little sister to tag along on the trip; she simply didn't belong. Fortunately, her acting wasn't too bad. All in all, the cast were fine, with frequent streaks of brilliance from the former mentioned members.

Author John Marsden.

In short, Tomorrow is a wonderful addition to Australia's growing winners in film, and I was mighty proud to walk out of that theatre as an Aussie teen, just like them.

NOW HEAR THIS: The soundtrack is actually pretty good, with offerings from some great Australian acts like Powderfinger, Sarah Blasko and Wolfmother. Download Black Hearts (On Fire) by Jet, and the best track from the film, Fader by The Temper Trap, which in my opinion is basically the musical score to easy-going, good-time Australian attitude.