The Year My Voice Broke

Considered one of the great classics of Australian cinema, The Year My Voice Broke is a coming-of-age film set in rural 1960s NSW. Noah Taylor stars in a breakthrough role as Danny, an intelligent country kid who refuses to fit in with his footy-playing peers, and acts out a bittersweet love letter to a bygone era, complete with the the nostalgic pangs of adolescence in all their awkward glory. Writer-Director John Duigan takes the veiwer on a vivid tour of the era, hitting all the right beats in terms of dialogue, inflection, time and place. He's helped out by a wonderful cast that includes great Australian talents like Bruce Spence and Graeme Blundell, as well as eager newcomers like Ben Mendelsohn, Loene Carmen and the aforementioned Noah Taylor (who is probably best known to international audiences as the younger version of the character Geoffrey Rush played in Shine).



Danny is an aspiring guitar player who likes sci-fi films. As you might guess, this means he isn't particularly at ease in his dusty home town, and he pines for Freya (Loene Carmen), the adopted daughter of the town drunk and his longstanding childhood friend. Freya unfortunately only has eyes for Trevor (Ben Mendelsohn), a confident and popular older boy with a wild streak. Trevor becomes protective of Danny (perhaps sensing that it will impress Freya) and Danny must watch on in despair as Freya and Trevor become involved with one another. Danny finds himself torn between his unrequited love for Freya and a small sense of loyalty to boofhead Trevor. The film charts their relationships with one another as they come to terms with the impending end of their childhood, and drama begins to unfold as a consequence of ill-judged decisions.



Danny and Freya are kindred spirits... both are outsiders in a town that becomes much too small for them. As Freya and Trevor become embroiled in a scandal of sorts, Danny begins to uncover the town's dark history. What's refreshing is that the film never plays into the usual coming-of-age cliches, it opts instead for a more realistic angle and has more than a few surprises up it's sleeve that make it a memorable take on a familiar story. Danny narrates in an ironic beyond-his-years voiceover that often makes light of the contrast between how he sees himself and how things really are, it's a characterisation that would slip through the fingers of most actors of Noah Taylor's age, but Taylor handles it with wry and self-deprecating aplomb. Also of note is Mendelsohn's performance as Trevor, he takes what might've been a boorish character and adds layers of immaturity and forthrightness to round him out in a realistic and entertaining fashion. Mendelsohn and Taylor would have to be two of the most undervalued Australian actors of their time.



There's also the usual breathtaking cinematography that tends to characterise serious Australian dramas... in this case it doesn't feel over the top and it fits the setting. I also liked the ambiguous and unstated nature of Danny and Freya's relationship towards the end of the film, the use of classical music (The Lark Ascends) helps highlight the emotional complexity that comes with Danny's journey toward manhood, and the film strikes just the right responsive chord. A true five-star effort.



DIRECTOR: John Duigan

WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by John Duigan, based on his own childhood experiences.

KEY ACTORS: Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, Ben Mendelsohn, Graeme Blundell, Bruce Spence, Lynette Curran, Judi Farr, Malcolm Robertson, Nick Tate, Rob Carlton



RELATED TEXTS:

- Duigan intended for this film to be the first in a trilogy that would chart the coming-of-age of Danny. The second film was the equally critically-acclaimed Flirting, but a third film never made it to the screen.

- Other Australian coming-of-age films include 48 Shades, Puberty Blues, The Rage in Placid Lake, Australian Rules, The Big Steal, Looking for Alibrandi, Beneath Clouds and Yolngu Boy.



AWARDS

AFIs - won Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ben Mendelsohn) and Best Screenplay. Also nominated for Best Actor (Noah Taylor), Best Actress (Loene Carmen) and Best Editing.