For Love Alone

Stephen Wallace's period drama, based on Christina Stead's 1940 autobiographical novel about a young woman and aspiring writer in Edwardian Australia finding her own way in the world of men, deservedly won AFI awards for its production and costume design which capture the look of the era superbly. The performances are quite solid with Helen Buday, in her first major screen role, playing the romantically idealist central character with a quiet determination and Hugo Weaving and Sam Neil typically cruel and charming, respectively.

The film, however sinks under the weight of Wallace's script which is dramatically monotonous and lumbered with stilted, literary dialogue in which the characters reiterate time and time again their world views, Wallace, seemingly overwhelmed by historical preciosity (perhaps the influence of producer Margaret Fink who had had great success with My Brilliant Career, which also starred Sam Neill) and unable to inject any dynamism in the performances.

 

Want something different?