The Waiting City (Radha Mitchell, Joel Edgerton) : Movie Review
July 12, 2010 by Jess Lomas
Filed under Movie Reviews, Movies
Fiona (Radha Mitchell) and Ben (Joel Edgerton) Simmons have a rocky marriage, what with one being a highly strung lawyer unable to detach herself from her work, and the other being a has been musician now drifting through life after a battle with depression.
They travel to India to collect their adopted daughter but on arrival discover the paperwork is yet to be finalised. While waiting in this foreign city old issues rise to the surface and each must come to terms with their demons from the past, using this colourful land and its people to help heal.
The Waiting City
Written and directed by Claire McCarthy, The Waiting City is a satisfying drama but one that fails to push the boundaries of the genre.
The protagonists are a neatly caricatured couple, the lawyer who is addicted to work and is perhaps using it to hide from the real reasons her marriage is failing; and the far too relaxed musician play against each other like in a Hollywood romantic comedy.
The saving grace is the solid and endearing performances from Mitchell and Edgerton who bring a definite warmth to the screen.
I was ultimately left asking myself, though, as the credits rolled, do I even care about these characters? Do I care about how it all ended for them? Perhaps not.
Their story takes a while to get into, to figure out who they are and how they came to be in this situation; travelling to India to adopt a young girl, a two year ordeal we’re constantly reminded about. Their plan to adopt a baby to bring their family together seems wrong from the very beginning, it’s the number one lesson girls are taught after stay away from bad boys, a baby will not fix a relationship. Yet we sit by and watch Fiona and Ben battle it out to discover this for themselves, and I suppose when they finally do realise this it is gratifying, or at least pleasing.
The star of the film is undeniably the Indian setting, the bright colours and people make for a truly stunning, albeit cliché, backdrop. By now the use of a foreign country as a means for a person’s self discovery is a bit well worn.
What makes this more unbearable is the visual representation of Fiona coming to terms with her past and present situation, manifesting itself in her wardrobe until she is finally walking around in traditional saris high-fiving the locals in the market place, okay I made that last bit up.
It’s interesting at first to see the couple embrace the culture of their adopted daughter’s heritage but begins to feel sentimental, forced and unnecessary.
As a relationship drama dealing with a marriage in crisis there are several moments that stand out in this film, and more than a few scenes to enjoy thanks largely to Edgerton’s blokey delivery. A sweet and honest story at its core there are perhaps some issues with the screenplay that limit this film from truly standing out.
Watch Out For: I wish someone had warned me of this before I saw the film, so it is my duty to warn you now that yes, Isabel Lucas is in this film, yes she is shocking, yes she plays a wannabe hippy musician, but thank your lucky stars her role is minimal.
WATCH OUT FOR | RATING : 3 / 5
