Kangaroo Roo-view
Kangaroo isn’t breaking any boundaries, but the roos are undeniably cute as hell.
When TV weatherman Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr) accidentally kills a dolphin, he is shunned by society. Desperate for his next gig, he returns to WA but finds himself stuck in the town of Silvergum when his car breaks down. There, he meets Charlie (Lily Whiteley), a young indigenous girl who has recently lost her father, and who is pouring her heart into helping local kangaroos and joeys. Chris, finding himself in possession of a young joey, forms a bond with Charlie and his new hopping companion, and they work together to rescue and rehabilitate a group of orphaned joeys in the Australian outback.
Directed by Kate Woods, Kangaroo is the sort of film that you can picture every twist and turn of right from the off. There’s nothing here that’s going to blow your socks off from a plot perspective, or indeed from a performance perspective, but it’s undeniably an easy watch.
Ryan Corr is fun as disgraced reporter Chris Masterman, and brings a heap of Sydney-side scumbaggery to the role that can be a lot of fun to watch. He’s ably matched by some of the side characters, particularly Rachel House as a surly bartender and Roy Billing as an out of place Rhodes Scholar with a penchant for fruity cocktails. It is odd that Deborah Mailman never really registers much as Rosie, and Lily Whiteley isn’t great as Charlie, but neither drag too much on the tale once it gets going.
A big part of this film is the landscape, and the location, and Woods does a great job of making these a hero of the piece. From the unique trappings of Silvergum in all its quaintness, to the broad and dominating wide landscapes from drone and on sticks, the film brings to life some of the expanse of the Australian outback, but also does so in a way that feels like it’s a caring and welcoming place, not a hostile one. The cinematography across the board is proficient, well constructed and clean; technically excellent, if perhaps missing artistic flair.
But no matter the gripes with the film’s cliche plot or hamfisted dialogue (the latter of which plays a big part in this movie), the saving grace of this picture is the undeniably adorable joey Liz at the heart of it. Across the board, the kangaroos in this movie are cute, but that lead joey will melt your heart. The way Woods builds Liz into the film, giving this adorable little creature a real personality and heart, is wonderful, and is worth the price of admission alone.
