Sorrento Beach Movie Review
The three Moynihan sisters grew up in Sorrento Beach, but only Hilary (Caroline Gillmer) stays there as an adult, raising the adolescent Troy (Ben Thomas) and tending to her dad, Wal (Ray Barrett). Pippa (Tara Morice) lives in New York, and Meg (Caroline Goodall), who lives in London, is the acclaimed author of Melancholy, an ill-disguised novel about the sisters and a book which touches a responsive chord in reader Marge Morrissey (Joan Plowright). When Wal dies, the sisters are reunited, and although young Troy is filled with questions for his aunt, neither Hilary nor Pippa will discuss the book with Meg. She's hurt (“All those people out there are talking about it and not my own sisters!?”), but the Moynihan women share a painful secret from the past—involving Hilary's late husband—that has estranged them for many years. With such undercurrents, why don't Pippa and Meg fly back to New York and London straight after Dad's funeral? Instead they talk around subjects for 112 minutes and Marge's magazine editor friend Dick Bennett (John Hargreaves) chips in with HIS opinion that Meg's recent press interviews are doing Australia no favors. For all this illuminating chatter, my favorite characters are Marge (Plowright is wonderful here); Troy (appealingly played by Thomas), who yawns whenever the grown-ups warm up to snap at one another; and the poor beautiful house-cat, who is forever being shoved off HER furniture! What's a mistress of her domain to do?: “That's right, I'll eat all this lovely fish they expect to have for dinner. Everyone is so busy chatting, NO ONE will notice!” AKA: Hotel Sorrento.
1995 (R) 112m/C AU Caroline Goodall, Caroline Gillmer, Tara Morice, Joan Plowright, John Hargreaves, Ray Barrett, Ben Thomas, Nicholas Bell; D: Richard Franklin; W: Richard Franklin, Peter Fitzpatrick, Hannie Rayson; C: Geoff Burton; M: Nevida Tyson-Chew. Australian Film Institute ‘95: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Barrett); Nominations: Australian Film Institute ‘95: Best Actress (Gillmer), Best Actress (Goodall), Best Director (Franklin), Best Film. VHS