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Festivale online magazine
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| Among Giants
I managed to get from Laverton to the City via Pt Cook, in under an hour to see this film, and if you know Melbourne at all that's no mean feat. But was it worth it.... The film is set in Sheffield, the Yorkshire Moors and the surrounding cliffs, in England. This is the second film to be released by writer Simon Beaufory. After his success with the “Full Monty”, but it is the first film he wrote. Beaufoy has put everyday people into extraordinary situations, “You begin by saying that that these are tiny people ...they are eking out this existence and still managing to survive, like little ants an elephant. Little parasites on the edge, just surviving. By the end you realize the people are the giants, not the structures.”
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 Movie Poster, Among Giants |
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It has been set in a world where hanging on is the most important thing in life, one man has to learn to let go. That man was Ray (Pete Postlethwaite), an aging working class rock climber who will take on any type of work, more than often illegal and often dangerous, to pay the bills. Divorced, over the hill (to some), Two kids. His best mate in the film is Steve (James Thornton), his climbing protégé 2IC in the work gang, a would be world traveler who, despite his mucho bravado, is stuck in a rut. Gerry (Rachel Griffiths) is the third person in this unusual triangle, she's an rock climbing Aussie traveler, and a woman who has no fixed roots, who's been moving through life without any firm footings. There're the three that make up the main part of this story. The others are not just there for filling, if you look at them they are the main parts that make up a team that can complete, any massive task set by Ray. Their humour and antics keep them on track and sane. Working on a job, ordinary men or women would under take.
So what's it about, among other things the relationship between people and their environment, among the towering cliffs, the cooling towers and the electrical towers and what happens when you hire a woman in to a job only seen as a mans job. It asks the questions, is it a bad thing to have a woman in a mans job or is it a bad thing to have a relationship in the work place... The story was Dry in a lot of things, like who was going to get the girl? Then two minutes you knew. Some of the story was hard to follow if you didn't understand where the people came from, like when the boys where painting one of the towers at night. I was holding back the laughter while everyone else was quiet as, then as they walk in to the light when the job was finished one other person got the joke. The way it finish was good, not that it was a good finish, but it finished the way it should have I think with no losers. It was good to see me old mate Jacob in a cameo part in the film even if it was a weak scene. The old man of the gang, Frank (Alen Williams) was a typical old bloke, quiet most of the time but when he said something it was either meaningful, or a great one liner. Weasal (Rob Jarvis) was your I'm one the rocks got on money winger and ever work I know of has one Rob Jarvis I his feature film debut did a great job of it. The other quiet one in the film was Shovel (Lennie James) he is someone who says only what has to be said a simple man, his the baby of the gang, Lennie had Shovel saying things with out words. But was it worth me breaking a few land speed records getting to see it, on. Bet it is a good film to go and see on a quite Friday night when there's not much on. Trev Keher |
 | Trevor Keher See also:
For official site, cast and crew credits, see below |
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Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
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