Jindabyne (film)
Jindabyne is a 2006 Australian drama film by third time feature director Ray Lawrence and starring Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney, Deborra-Lee Furness and John Howard.The screenplay was written by Beatrix Christian, and was adapted from the late American short story writer and poet Raymond Carver's 1975 title, "So Much Water So Close to Home".Carver's story had also been retold in music by Australian artist Paul Kelly in the song "Everything's Turning to White", on his 1989 album So Much Water So Close to Home.[4][circular reference] On an annual fishing trip, in isolated high country, Stewart (Gabriel Byrne), Carl (John Howard), Rocco (Stelios Yiakmis) and Billy (Simon Stone) find a girl's body in the river; she has been brutally murdered by Gregory (Chris Haywood), a local electrician.It becomes clear from this point that the western culture of a town that had to be abandoned and rebuilt on higher ground because of a dam and which is populated by immigrants, is at odds with the ancient belief system of the local Aboriginal community.The website's critical consensus reads, "Jindabyne's disparate themes may not quite cohere, but the film features fine performances from Linney and Byrne.[6] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, gave the film 5 stars and wrote, "The movie is beautifully shot, and succeeds in being deeply disturbing and mysterious, with richly achieved nuances of characterisation."[7] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that "The real flaw is that the movie's best features — the aching clarity of its central performances — threaten to be lost in a wilderness of metaphor and mystification."[citation needed] The Age hailed it as "easily one of the most engrossing, thoughtful, adult-oriented big-screen dramas produced in Australia for 20 years.