Via Satellite

Like a cross between Secrets & Lies and the Australian comedy The Castle, this film puts an "ordinary" (but dysfunctional) suburban family under pressure and under scrutiny, and then lets us sit back and watch what happens. It's a stylishly shot budget film with some excellent moments, and a few real laugh-out-loud scenes.

True, the film's a bit slow in the middle, and there are some small lapses in continuity, but the beginning and ending are good, and the actors all perform well throughout. Danielle Cormack does a particularly fine job as Chrissy/Carol, and Tim Balme is wonderfully quirky as the frustrated and frustrating Ken. This is writer/director Anthony McCarten's first feature film, but no doubt we'll see more of his work.

Incidentally, while walking out of the theatre, I chatted with another viewer who said, "When my daughter was competing in the Olympics, and the tv crew came to film my family, it was nothing like this. It was really exciting. I'm sad this film didn't capture that kind of excitement and good feeling that we all felt watching her compete." Her comment may truly reflect surburban life, but that's not what Via Satellite is about, and McCarten's story explores more interesting issues.