Directed by:
Ray LawrenceCinematography:
Mandy WalkerComposer:
Paul KellyCast:
Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey, Kerry Armstrong, Rachael Blake, Vince Colosimo, Russell Dykstra, Peter Phelps, Leah Purcell, Glenn Robbins (more)Plots(1)
Ray Lawrence's LANTANA is an intelligent, well-written, well-acted film that is much more than just another cop thriller--it's more like YOU CAN COUNT ON ME with its realistic, complex relationships and believable characters. The film opens with a slow pan over a dead body, eerily reminiscent of BLUE VELVET. Anthony LaPaglia stars as Leon, a Sydney police detective who is cheating on his wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), with a married woman from their dance class (Rachael Blake), even though he still loves his wife. There's something missing from his life, but he's not sure what. His relationship with his son is strained, and even his partner, Claudia (Leah Purcell), knows something is wrong. But as his affair heats up and a murder mystery that seems to involve all of the people in his life begins to consume his attentions, he is forced to reexamine his future both as a family man and a cop. LANTANA won seven Australian Film Institute Awards, including best picture, best director for Lawrence, best actor for LaPaglia, best actress for Armstrong, best supporting awards for both Blake and Colosimo, and best adapted screenplay by Andrew Bovell, who based the script on his play SPEAKING IN TONGUES. As the murder investigation gets more complicated and the tangled web leads to even more lying, cheating, and deception, the acting intensifies, and the sharp dialogue allows the characters to blossom as beautifully as the lantana bush referred to in the title. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Anthony LaPaglia
Australia
Best movies:
Trees Lounge (1996)
Balibo (2009)
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Geoffrey Rush
Australia
Best movies:
Finding Nemo (2003)
The King's Speech (2010)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Barbara Hershey
USA
Best movies:
Falling Down (1993)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Kerry Armstrong
Australia
Best movies:
A Long Way from Home: Dadah Is Death (1988) (TV movie)
Lantana (2001)
Oyster Farmer (2004)
Rachael Blake
Australia
Best movies:
Summer (2008)
Clapham Junction (2007) (TV movie)
Lantana (2001)
Vince Colosimo
Australia
Best movies:
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Body of Lies (2008)
Lantana (2001)
Russell Dykstra
Australia
Best movies:
Lantana (2001)
Romulus, My Father (2007)
Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
Peter Phelps
Australia
Best movies:
Point Break (1991)
The Lighthorsemen (1987)
Forever Strong (2008)
Leah Purcell
Best movies:
The Proposition (2005)
Lantana (2001)
Last Cab to Darwin (2015)
Glenn Robbins
Australia
Best movies:
Lantana (2001)
Manu Bennett
New Zealand
Best movies:
Melissa Martinez
Spain
Best movies:
Lantana (2001)
The Substitute (1996)
Sabotage (2014)
Gabriella Maselli
Best movies:
Lantana (2001)
Lani John Tupu
New Zealand
Best movies:
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2004) (TV movie) - narrator
Lantana (2001)
The Lost World (1999) (TV movie)