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Home (cover) > Reel Life (movie section) > Film Reviews > 2015

A Reel Life film section

Issue: Summer 2015-6

Last Cab to Darwin (2015) movie review

Outback Trek

Rex (Michael Caton) is an old bugger who drives a taxi around Broken Hill, Australia. When he gets the long face from the doctor he heads on a bit of a drive to Darwin (3,000 kilometres away) to take advantage of the new Northern Territory euthanasia laws espoused by Dr Farmer (Jacki Weaver).

Last Cab to Darwin is wonderful to watch. It is a classic road movie -- characters whose search for meaning is facilitated by their physical journey.

In Last Cab to Darwin, even those who are left behind are moved to make changes in their lives. There is a nice mix of familiar Australian actors and new faces. The performances are sympathetic, the actors and the director (Jeremy Sims) are not trying for some kind of kitch Australia, but rather play it straight.

DVD Cover, Last Cab to Darwin, Festivale film review; 220x387

Last Cab to Darwin
It's never too late to start living

The language, the accents, the behaviours all ring true. They add flavour to the film without taking away from the central concerns.

Written by Reg Cribb and Jeremy Sims, Last Cab to Darwin deals with a sensitive issue without becoming preachy. It deals with death and dying without deteriorating into a tear jerker. It achieves something quite difficult - a dramatic story without melodrama or villains.

This would have to be one of the most effective films I have seen in some time, and a welcome addition to DVD collections around the world.

DVD extras: Featurette, deleted scenes.

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by Ali Kayn
Australian release on DVD, Blu-Ray and Digital December 9, 2015
For credits and official site details, see below
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Just the facts:

Title: Last Cab to Darwin (2015)
Written by: Reg Cribb, Jeremy Sims
Directed by: Jeremy Sims
Running time: 123 mins
Rating: M

The Players: Michael Caton, Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Mark Coles Smith, Jacki Weaver, Emma Hamilton,

Official website: www.lastcab.com.au/lastcab.com.au
IMDb entry

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