Line #11 Film/LookBothWays2005


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3	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_1046.JPG]]
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5	A 2005 Australian independent drama film, written and directed by Sarah Watt.
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7	Meryl (Justine Clarke) has just had her father pass away. She's stuck in her job and life, unable to make any real progress. Nick (Creator/WilliamMcInnes) is diagnosed with testicular cancer, and it has already spread to his lung. Andy (Anthony Hayes) is recently divorced, and his new girlfriend Anna (Lisa Flanagan) announces that she's pregnant. There is also Julia (Daniella Farinacci), whose partner was killed in an accident, and [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep the Train Driver]] (Andreas Sobik), who was the driver of the train that killed Julia's partner. Behind the story, a larger tragedy is also occurring, the Arnow Hill train accident, which killed many people and left many suffering.
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9	The film has quite a serious undertone, dealing with issues like grief, tragedy, death, dissatisfaction, loneliness, uncertainty, danger... and exploring how the characters go through their problems and manage to escape from the darker side of life. Despite so, the director manages to keep the film quite light, rather than getting all bogged down into the philosophical or psychological. She keeps balance between the two sides of life, bright and dark, through focusing not only on the main characters but also on the side characters, justaposing the tragedy with the urban, common happiness, as well as through using techniques like animation, photomontage, body language to show the characters' emotional turmoil, rather than indulging in wangst dialogues and existential discussions. The film's setting is also chosen wisely, a sunlit typical Adelaide suburb, with typical people and typical Australian laid-back way of life. The film, therefore, has a very Australian feel to it, rather than trying to conform to Hollywood standard.
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11	Be careful not to confuse this with [[LookBothWays the trope]] or the [[Film/LookBothWays2022 2022 film]] of the same name.
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14	!!This film provides examples of:
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16	%%* CanNotSpitItOut: The problem of pretty much every characters, and for good reason.
17	* ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere: While struggling to make up her mind about her pregnancy, Anna is asked three times in under a minute if she has kids: first from a mother who's just given birth, second from an upset father trying to convince her to prioritise his sick child, and third from a coworker who wants to check on her availability to work during school holidays.
18	* DramaticDrop: Julia is introduced dropping her shopping bags after seeing the aftermath of her husband's death on the train tracks. Nick happens to photograph this moment, which ends up in the newspaper.
19	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The story spans about 48 hours.
20	-->'''Meryl''': You met me on Friday. We slept together on Saturday. You took me to meet your mother on Sunday, and now you're telling me you can't start something? That's the tightest little relationship I've ever had!
21	* FiveStagesOfGrief: Meryl refers to the "seven stages at grief" at one point, wondering whether she's up to bargaining yet before asking Nick, "What's the point in knowing where you're up to if you've still got to go through it anyway?"
22	* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Meryl to her father. It's mentioned that he [[KilledMidSentence died suddenly in the middle of a conversation]]. Nick notes that it least it was quick and apparently painless, but Meryl replies that her mother wishes she knew what he was about to say.
23	* NewscasterCameo: SBS newsreader Mary Kostakidis appears to report on a tunnel collapse.
24	* NoNameGiven: The man driving the train responsible for a man's death in the first act.
25	* OneBookAuthor: This was one of only two films Sarah Watt directed before her death in 2011.
26	* PhotoMontage: Used several times, including the ending [[spoiler:depicting Nick and Meryl's relationship]].
27	* RogerRabbitEffect: Live-action Meryl poses alongside sketches in the film poster.
28	* TheStoic: Every character tries to be one, though it turns out to be counterproductive. The film deconstructs this character type.
29	* SuddenlySpeaking: Julia and the Train Driver were TheVoiceless until:
30	-->'''Train Driver''': I'm the train driver... I'm sorry.
31	-->'''Julia''': [[TearJerker It wasn't your fault]].
32	%%* AWorldHalfFull
33	* YourDaysAreNumbered: Nick is informed of his cancer diagnosis in an early scene, though the doctor isn't willing to speculate on his chances yet. [[spoiler:The final PhotoMontage indicates that he does survive at least a few years, in a happy relationship with Meryl, but doesn't confirm whether he recovers from the cancer or not.]]

Context Film / LookBothWays2005