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Both love and grief can be powerful enough to make people do things that they would never do under normal circumstances. And in Dirt Music, two people set out into the treacherous Australian seaside to overcome their pain and loss and to find love.
Dirt Music stars Kelly Macdonald as Georgie, a former nurse whose relationship with widowed fisherman Jim Buckridge (David Wenham) has been over for a long time—yet she still lives in his home, cares for his sons, and pretends to be a good fishwife. But then she meets Lu Fox (Garrett Hedlund), a former musician turned reclusive poacher who’s caught up in his grief. The two find a strong connection that she refuses to deny. But when Jim finds out about their affair and Lu disappears, Georgie sets out to find Lu and bring him back.
Based on the novel by Tim Winton, Dirt Music tells a story of loss and healing as Lu and Georgie face hardships on their road to happiness. Sometimes, though, films that have been adapted from novels struggle to have the same emotional impact as their literary counterparts—and that’s definitely the case here. The film takes very little time to get to know the characters before they jump into what’s supposed to feel like a passionate romance. Georgie is ready to walk away from her troubled relationship with her controlling partner, while poor, unstable Lu just seems a little overwhelmed by this random woman who keeps showing up at his door.
The relationship simply doesn’t have time to develop—to feel like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love—and the characters themselves don’t feel fully developed, either. Lu’s decision to wander off alone into the wilderness doesn’t make a whole lot of sense—and Georgie’s determination to do everything she can to chase after a man that, really, she just met seems just as impulsive. The Western Australia scenery is definitely striking—and it could have made a beautiful setting for a love story. But although it’s supposed to be a sweet story of the kind of life-changing romance that makes you want to move mountains, it ends up feeling awkward and rather extreme.
Dirt Music is definitely a beautiful film, taking viewers through the wild Australian seaside. But the love story feels too underdeveloped and distant—and audiences will have a hard time connecting to the characters and their romance.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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