Lantana

"From its Citizen Kane-like opening shot -- in which an invasive camera slowly moves through dense shrubbery and ultimately reveals the body of a dead woman -- Lantana evokes an eerie, unsettling atmosphere. Visually and aurally, the Lions Gate Home Entertainment DVD release of the critically acclaimed Australian film, which has been compared to Robert Altman's Short Cuts and Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, earns high marks from its very first scene. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track gets a chance to kick in immediately as an ambient insect buzzing accompanies the drawn-out zoom and builds to a feverish pitch, while the colors of the aforementioned lantana plant are vivid and sharp, thanks to an excellent 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Also worth noting in regards to the sound is Paul Kelly's haunting score, which further highlights the film's moodiness and unites the intersecting lives of the characters. Most of Lantana consists of dark scenes, but thankfully, the DVD offers plenty of contrast and brightness, with very precise shadows. Particularly memorable is a series of later scenes involving a nighttime car accident and subsequent chase through moonlit wilderness. The only real significant extra here is an enjoyable 24-minute making-of documentary called ""The Nature of Lantana."" The large ensemble cast (Anthony LaPaglia, Geoffrey Rush, Barbara Hershey) and crew (director Ray Lawrence, screenwriter Andrew Bovell) passionately discuss their enthusiasm for the project and the film's thematic elements. Only one question remains: Why is Lantana, which won seven Australian Film Institute Awards including best film, Lawrence's first movie since 1985's Bliss?"