Roeg's first solo film as director ( the earlier 'Performance' was co-directed with Donald Cammell ), shows off to good effect what he learnt as a cinematographer. His concentration on this aspect though, causes big cracks to appear in other areas of the film which ultimately are serious enough to undermine all the cinematic beauty and force 'Walkabout' into the category of grand failure.
Jenny Agutter plays a teenage schoolgirl who is left to fend for herself and her young brother when their father cracks up and kills himself after driving them out for a desert picnic. This allows for numerous striking images and wonderfully composed shots as the two urban, civilised, fair-skinned children walk through the beautiful savagery of the outback. We are treated to numerous close-ups of lizards which try and divert our attention from the dialogue which is minimal and often trite. The young boy ( played by Roeg's son ) seems to have ability but his role is severely hampered by sound problems which render many of his lines impossible to understand. Agutter's delivery is bland and her performance doesn't have the power to make her character work - her nude swim is by far her best scene which doesn't speak highly for the film as a whole. David Gulpilil takes all the acting plaudits as the Aborigine boy, but he isn't given enough support to function at a high level. In the second half of the film even the imagery starts to become laboured - particularly all the scenes of urban decay.
The basic premise of the Westernised brother and sister finding their civilised education useless in the wilderness, having to rely on the primitive savagery of the Aborigine to survive, should have been a solid storyline - but there is too much pretension and everything is overcomplicated and laden with unnecessary symbolism and double meanings. This results in the film becoming boring and dull to sit through - one for the cultural snobs to debate over and delight in it's paper thin glossy coat which conceals a very fragile effort that won't stand up to any deep probings.
Roeg's next film did manage to successfully fuse his talents into a fully-realised production and the results were excellent. 'Don't Look Now' proved to be the only shining star in a directorial career full of unfulfilled promise which, by the the mid-90's, was reduced to the occasional Made-for-TV movie.
Jenny Agutter plays a teenage schoolgirl who is left to fend for herself and her young brother when their father cracks up and kills himself after driving them out for a desert picnic. This allows for numerous striking images and wonderfully composed shots as the two urban, civilised, fair-skinned children walk through the beautiful savagery of the outback. We are treated to numerous close-ups of lizards which try and divert our attention from the dialogue which is minimal and often trite. The young boy ( played by Roeg's son ) seems to have ability but his role is severely hampered by sound problems which render many of his lines impossible to understand. Agutter's delivery is bland and her performance doesn't have the power to make her character work - her nude swim is by far her best scene which doesn't speak highly for the film as a whole. David Gulpilil takes all the acting plaudits as the Aborigine boy, but he isn't given enough support to function at a high level. In the second half of the film even the imagery starts to become laboured - particularly all the scenes of urban decay.
The basic premise of the Westernised brother and sister finding their civilised education useless in the wilderness, having to rely on the primitive savagery of the Aborigine to survive, should have been a solid storyline - but there is too much pretension and everything is overcomplicated and laden with unnecessary symbolism and double meanings. This results in the film becoming boring and dull to sit through - one for the cultural snobs to debate over and delight in it's paper thin glossy coat which conceals a very fragile effort that won't stand up to any deep probings.
Roeg's next film did manage to successfully fuse his talents into a fully-realised production and the results were excellent. 'Don't Look Now' proved to be the only shining star in a directorial career full of unfulfilled promise which, by the the mid-90's, was reduced to the occasional Made-for-TV movie.