Five years after making a splash on the indie scene with Lantana, Aussie director Ray Lawrence presented his "intriguing" follow-up Jindabyne. Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney deliver critically praised turns as a husband and wife dealing with the discovery of a murdered girl. It was more successful here than in the States, providing an antidote to Hollywood fare like Pirates 3 and Spider-Man 3.

Going Down Under

Lawrence is very generous with his time on location, reflecting on his work as cameras follow him around for a half-hour documentary. He describes storytelling as tending to "a candle flickering in a cave," in this case needing to preserve the haunting ambience of the film. To do this he puts an emphasis on creating a natural environment for the actors eg, using real locations and natural light instead of stage lights. Certainly having to ramble around the Aussie outback was enough to set Laura Linney on edge; "The power of the nature here is so intense," she says, before going on to relay how strange creatures have a tendency to leap out at you from behind the bushes.

Speaking of Gabriel Byrne, the environment also made a big impact on him. Most notably during the fishing scenes, the remoteness of the location fed his character's sense of loneliness and isolation. Or as he puts it, "It's so far away..." Everyone enjoyed the pace that Lawrence set though, never dwelling on a scene - 'just two run-throughs and a take'. The idea of keeping the actors 'in the moment' even extends to the editing where Karl Sodersten explains how he cuts in tune with a movement or gesture, rather than follow a storyboard. In all it's a fascinating look at how films are made outside of the Hollywood system.

Slice And Dice

For six-and-a-half minutes of deleted footage, the director lets his camera linger even more indulgently on the performances. In a scene that screams out 'METAPHOR!' Claire (Linney) uses a rag to clean out the dirty ears of husband Stewart (Byrne) and then asks him twice if he "really" loves her. Perhaps the best of the batch is a campfire scene during the guys' fishing trip where Stewart speculates on what might have happened to the girl. It hints at the first pangs of guilt as well as the macho group mentality that keeps him from ditching his fishing rod and reporting the grisly find straight away.

It's a modest set of extras for this DVD, but even though Lawrence doesn't give commentary for the main feature, it's not often you'll get to see such a freewheeling director at work. Also, if you enjoy a good character-driven film and didn't see this in cinemas, it's worth casting your net a bit wider.

EXTRA FEATURES

Jindabyne DVD is released on Monday 17th September 2007.