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Palm Beach

1979, Movie, NR, 88 mins

Palm Beach: Review

This independent, avante-garde Australian feature has some unusual moments and interesting cinematic techniques. It carefully winds together the stories of four characters. Bryan Brown plays an unemployed man, desperate for money, who steals a gun and turns to robbery. Ken Brown is a petty thief who dabbles in drug deals. Berry is a teenage runaway who's being tailed by private detective Flaus. The film is shot in long takes with an overlapping soundtrack that gives mystique to the stories. Some mildly bizarre humor runs through the stories. One funny moment has a much-relieved Flaus sitting in the cops' offices after they have solved his case, removing his toupee to mop his brow. The actors give an interesting ensemble effort that never shows a hint of amateurism--quite an accomplishment from a group of mostly nonprofessional actors. (Flaus was actually a film teacher.) The thick Australian accents may be difficult for an untrained ear to discern. PALM BEACH was shot in 16mm and blown up to 35mm, resulting in an excessively grainy look. leave a comment