Film musicals have become something of a rarity in the last two decades, so when Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge burst out onto the scene, with its canvas overflowing with luscious colors and remixes of hits from the 80s and 90s, it seemed like musicals might finally have made their comeback. Alas, it was not to be. Blame it on the high production costs associated with musicals or the difficulty of creating new music for a feature film, but musicals haven’t become the next big thing in modern cinema. And so, when an independently produced musical manages to give audiences a solid effort replete with some decent tunes and acting, it should be supported. Brand New Day, an Australian musical, has a few great musical numbers, but for the most part it suffers from substandard performances and a campiness that doesn’t translate well to the screen, even if it is par for the course for musical theatre.
Young aboriginal Willie (Rocky McKenzie) has never felt more distant from his girl Rosie (Jessica Mauboy) than the day after a botched date sees him shipped off to seminary to study under the strict guidance of Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush). Disillusioned by the pious life his mother wants him to pursue, Willie goes on the run with the vagabond Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo) and two roadtrippers, Annie (Missy Higgins) and Slippery (Tom Budge) as they race against Benedictus to get Willie back to his hometown to reunite with Rosie.
Were it not for McKenzie’s weak lead performance, many of the film’s worst moments wouldn’t be nearly as bad, but as is his inability to seem sincere or invested in his role makes it hard to care about his journey to get back home. For that matter, it’s hard to believe that he cares so much about Rosie even though he treats her the way he does just about everyone else – not because it’s in the script, but because he can’t muster anything deeper. When the role calls for comedy, McKenzie’s fine, but otherwise he’s struggling to keep up with a script that already calls for a large amount of over-the-top acting.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
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"Brand New Day" is on sale September 13, 2011 and is rated PG13. Comedy, Musical. Directed by Rachel Perkins. Written by Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Jessica Mauboy, Rocky Mckenzie, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins, Tom Budge.
