LEAVE EVERYTHING BEHIND.Â
In 1977, Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska) leaves Alice Springs for a 1,700-mile walk across the Australian deserts to the Indian Ocean, with four camels and her dog as company. This fact-based story, which was originally documented by the American photographer and occasional lover Rick Smolan (Adam Driver), does not present a lot of tension during its journey. One is still hooked nevertheless thanks to cinematographer Mandy Walker’s epic shots of the vast deserts, John Curran’s rhythm in his storytelling and Wasikowska’s performance as the independent-minded Robyn who finds most people in her presence a nuisance. Virtually a companion piece to the same year’s Wild.
2014-Australia-Britain. 112 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman. Directed by John Curran. Screenplay: Marion Nelson. Book: Robyn Davidson. Cinematography: Mandy Walker. Cast: Mia Wasikowska (Robyn Davidson), Adam Driver (Rick Smolan), Rainer Bock (Kurt), Rolley Mintuma, John Flaus, Robert Coleby.
Trivia: At various points, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts have been considered for the lead.
Last word: “When I read the book what struck me most was that Robyn doesn’t reveal much about her past or delve into it, nor does she talk much about why she is doing the trip. As a filmmaker you become more fascinated with what is between the lines of type – what it is that she isn’t saying. I liked the idea of doing a story that’s kind of like a Western, and with Westerns you meet the protagonist and you don’t know about their past at first, you just learn a little a long the way. The Western character is reductive. I think the strength of Robyn’s character here is in her mystery.” (Curran, Issue Magazine)
