Not Rated

Directed by Peter Weir

Starring Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Vivean Gray, Helen Morse and Kristy Child

Heidi’s Illustrious Review: 3

Made in 1975, Picnic at Hanging Rock is widely considered a very good movie. I was not in the right frame of mind to watch it (I was tired), but I appreciated Peter Weir’s artistic approach to this story. I am a fan of Weir, as he directed my all-time favorite movie, Dead Poets Society. Picnic at Hanging Rock is set in Australia in 1900 . It is based on a novel by Joan Lindsay (1896-1984). Lindsay wrote the story as if it is based on real events, but it is entirely fictional. (Note: Lindsay often made inferences during interviews that some events in the novel were based on real-life events. The truth will likely never be known.)

While on a picnic, a group of girls from a local private school disappear somewhere on Hanging Rock, a geological formation that springs out of the Australian countryside (the rock really does exist). The mystery of their disappearance is even more mystifying when one of the lost girls turns up a week later, her face and hands scratched, but her bare feet undamaged. The incident of the lost girls results in a cascade of tragic events.

Peter Weir’s take on this strange novel seems to be otherwordly. Though it is never spelled out, with a soundtrack of music reminicent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and drawn out pans of the Australian sky, the viewer is left to ponder whether the girls have been abducted by aliens.

This film is slow and for me it was necessary to brew a cup of coffee about halfway through. The acting is unquestionably 70’s in style (there is some overacting). But overall, the movie is strong and has enough suspense to keep the audience intrigued despite lack of much dialogue. The novel tells an absorbing story and Peter Weir’s screen adaptation seems fitting.