Placid Lake has always been different. As an odd fish in a sea of mediocrity, his brilliant ideas are bound to get him into more trouble than success. So when he finds himself flying off the school roof and breaking every bone in his body on graduation night, Placid decides to make a bid for the elusive normal life. To his parents' horror, he gets a normal job.
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.
The first must-see film of the year.
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Placid Lake is of course the name of a satirical horror film from 1999, so the writer of this film was possibly trying to indicate the lead character's life was a modern day horror film, perhaps. Placid is anything but placid as he and his female friend Gemma just don't fit in, as displayed by the opening scene in which they both prefer watching television away from the other high school revelers. Placid is not just bullied like those that do not fit in, but he's raised by extremely idiotic parents stuck in a hippie/new age time warp. Placid's plan to fit in comes about accidentally when he's cornered by the bullies with no escape. He ends up becoming a drone working for an insurance company before realizing he's not cut out to put on a show for society to fit in.The film tries to be earnest with its message, and the film certainly has its funny moments, especially the student film Placid produces. However, the pacing is slow, even for a ninety minute film, and it never builds to a comic crescendo one might expect. The ending is not that satisfying either as Placid simply returns to his previous unorthodox self with his happy female friend in tow ecstatic to have the old Placid back. Unfortunately, the film builds an all or nothing case with being an individual vs. being a member of society with no room for a happy medium. Someone in his twenties may call it thumbing his nose at the system, but after thirty it's really just becoming a loser. This coming of age film would have been much more enjoyable with a quickened pace, more judicious editing, and perhaps a compromise to its all or nothing perspective. **1/2 of 4 stars.
As far as Australian cinema goes, there are occasional highs and monumental lows. The Rage In Placid Lake, for me, represents one of the most outstanding offerings in recent years.In the way that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is better than the films it parodies, Placid Lake turns the tacky and outdated genre of 'teen movie' into a refreshing anti-rebellion piece that sends its message through excellent acting (Ben Lee & Rose Byrne) and well chosen dialogue.If Rock Hudson and Doris Day experimented with hormones and hemp, The Rage in Placid Lake could be a possible outcome.
Iam a big fan of foreign movies but this one really was just bad. The acting was very poor especially the main character. The movie is not funny and most jokes are just copied of Hollywood movies. Save yourself2 hours and $3.99. It doesn't matter how much you try to get out of the movie at the end there was not much to get out of it. The jokes were mainly lame and the character was so dull and unfunny. The movie was not very original and the acting could have definitely been improved. There are lot of good Aussie movies out there but this is not one of them. The story line was very hollywoodish without life and at the end you wished you had followed you instinct and turn it off right at the beginning
With all due respects, I have seen funny, and this isn't it. EVERY movie made about teens coming of age has the theme that you have to find your own identity in this harsh cruel world. "The Rage in Placid Lake" seems to think it's discovered something brand new in making this startling discovery. Here's the spoiler I promised you. Placid Lake discovers he should just be himself and then he gets the nerdy girl in the end. There, I've just saved ninety minutes of your life, which can now be spent watching one of the much better movies that this one pays homage to. (start with "The Graduate", then "Rebel Without A Cause", "Ghostworld", "The Bank") This got a lot of good reviews when it was released, and lots of good reviews on this site, and picked up a plethora of nominations for the AFI awards, so it's obviously strikes a chord with a lot of people. But for those who want to a movie with real characters, a sub text buried beneath the surface (hence the name sub text) rather than pasted irritatingly over the top, any connection to the real world and decent jokes, don't bother. Rent "Ned" or "You Can't Stop The Murders". They're both funny and unpretentious and didn't muster an AFI nomination between them.