POLLY STANIFORD

DIRT MUSIC (2020)
Starring Kelly MacDonald, Garrett Hedlund, Ava Caryofyllis, David Wenham and Aaron Pedersen. Directed by Gregor Jordan.

Georgie Jutland is barely holding it together these days without a drink. Once a nurse, now she’s trapped in the backwater fishing port of White Point with local crayfish baron, Jim Buckridge and his two sons, whose dead mother she can never hope to replace.

One hazy night she sees the lone figure of Lu Fox appear in the mists of the bay. A long time ago he was a dirt musician, but now he survives as a poacher - an unwise choice given Jim’s iron-grip on the local fishing trade.

Georgie is instantly drawn to Lu, and the pair begin an intense affair. What Georgie doesn’t realise is that the Foxes and the Buckridges have a long, murky history.

Fearing Jim’s fury and haunted by his tragic past, Lu flees north to Coronation Island, a place dear to Georgie’s heart. Discovering Lu has fled, Georgie decides to follow him north with the unlikely help of Jim.

REVIEWS Dirt Music - A typically flawed Tim Winton adaptation

BERLIN SYNDROME (2017)
Starring Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt, Matthias Habich, Lucie Aron, Emma Bading and Lara Marie Müller. Directed by Cate Shortland.

Clare is an Australian photojournalist alone and adrift in Berlin. One afternoon she meets Andi, a charismatic local. There is an instant attraction between them and a night of passion follows. But what initially appears to be the start of a romance takes an unexpected and sinister turn when Clare wakes up the following morning to discover Andi has left for work and locked her in his apartment. An easy mistake to make, of course, except Andi has no intention of letting her leave, ever. Biding her time, Clare plots her escape as the walls of Andi’s apartment close in, all the while becoming drawn into a complex relationship with her captor.

REVIEWS Berlin Syndrome - A tense, adrenaline-filled thriller