“A STORY ABOUT SPLITTING HEIRS’
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Rocky McKenzie, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins and Jessica Mauboy
Directed by: Rachel Perkins
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Musical Comedy, Foreign (Australian)
Running time: 1hr 30min
By John Delia
The quirky musical comedy Bran Nue Dae hits the screen spreading laughter, light hearted tunes and a down under tale about love and religion. Well not so much religion, but a rebellion of sorts that has a priest on the chase. It’s a fun look at a lot of nonsense with a bevy of songs that entertain.
One late 1960’s summer in Broome, Australia, Willie (Rocky McKenzie) a young man who is coming of age is about to drop the L word on his girlfriend Rosie (Jessica Mauboy). But, as things would have it, Willie gets sidetracked and before he knows it, gets shipped off to boarding school in Perth. Here he faces the tutelage of Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush) a hard nose teacher who keeps his students serious about their schooling.  Willie yearns to return to his village to continue his life of fishing and the lovely Rosie. One day Willie causes a disturbance and gets punished by Father Benedictus and runs away from the school headed for his home. When Benedictus decides to chase after Willie, a comedy of ‘heirs’ comes to light.
Rush does a great job of creating Father Benedictus, the inflexible teacher that finds himself in a pickle when his past starts to pop up. I loved the way he uses serious as a tool to being funny. In the lead role newcomer Rocky McKenzie gives Willie a chaste look with a little devil hidden inside. When he meets up with his Tadpole (Ernie Dingo) and Annie (Missy Higgins) on the road home, McKenzie plays a new Willie who’s coming of age.
Director Rachel Perkins controls the action and wacky comedy extremely well tying the
film together with some excellent toe tapping music. Her characters are lively and fun to watch. Although Geoffrey Rush is the best known in the cast, Perkins does keep him from dominating the show. But I will say this about Rush in Bran Nue Dae; he’s a real hoot and an able singer as well.
Bran Nue Dae is Unrated but does contain some violence, adult situations, sexual references, language, drug use and a condom tree. The film is intended for mature persons who can recognize that it’s all in fun.
FINAL ANALYSIS:Â A fun filled musical with enjoyable characters. (3.5 of 5)