Lantana: Critic Reviews

A perceptive, powerfully acted psychodrama.

Has a refreshingly keen ability to see everything from multiple angles.

The film is as dense as its namesake, and it reminds us how few contemporary thrillers are adult.

Solving the mystery of the dead body would be enough for most Hollywood movies. In Lantana, it's merely a device to launch us into more rewarding explorations.

If some of the connections stretch credulity, an exquisite ensemble cast ... inhabit their characters with a subtle authenticity.

Lantana is so rich in secondary characters and performances it's hard to mention them all. But you will certainly appreciate them.

What's surprising is how easy it is to follow the plot, and how the coincidences don't get in the way.

A meditation on fidelity in marriage where the suspense and surprises stem from who has -- or hasn't -- been betraying each other and how.

A psychological thriller that emphasizes the psychology over the thrills. It's a smart, heart-twisting picture.

The thorns in this film prick real blood, the color of which too few films can or care to examine. It is fine stuff indeed.

Lawrence cast well and gets terrific performances all the way up and down the line.

Remarkably non-bummer viewing. Bleak as its outlook is, it's not so much psychodrama as psychocomedy of manners.

A sensitive essay that dearly wants to be a feature film.

The film is powerfully acted, with nary a weak performance to be found.

As a mystery, "Lantana" is memorable. But as a study in human relationships and the human condition, it's unforgettable.

... boldly, thoroughly, and honestly explores the difficulties of unconditional love in a society that teaches us that we should never deny our base appetites and impulses.

The sort of movie that highbrow critics love to overrate...It's Married With Children for serious-minded folks without a sense of humor.

The movie doesn't have the appeal of a Hitchcock psychological murder mystery. It's more a well-acted study about the thorny landscape of relationships.

It has a sensuality years away from the young faces and trainer-toned bodies we've come to expect.

It makes thoughts and emotional webs run wild in our heads, and leaves us unsure of how to describe them, simply by focusing on the complexity of people.

Warmly received at its world premiere (Opening Film, Sydney Film Festival, June 8, 2001), Lantana is a film for film lovers, an engaging character study whose subjects are as varied as they are self-contradictory.

Cutting up love---In every dream house grows a Lantana of heartache

Intriguing Australian film that's a must for independent film fans.

A stark and haunting study of marital discord.

Where "Lantana" succeeds is by out smarting it's audience. It is masquerading as a predictable thriller, but it's far from that. It will keep you guessing til the very end