Whatever poetry was contained in author Tim Winton's 2001 novel is lost in the screenplay, by Jack Thorne ("The Aeronauts"), that reduces the pain within this love triangle to a lot of shouting.

The worst part about the overly melancholy “Dirt Music,” a real downer of a movie, is that it’s billed as a romance. It’s anything but. The story, based on the critically acclaimed novel by Australian writer Tim Winton, is supposedly one of love and redemption. But a film that’s filled with so much tragedy and a longing for death is not exactly the type of entertainment most would enjoy watching right now. Former nurse Georgie (Kelly Macdonald) is trapped in the backwater fishing town of White Point with the local town fisherman, the ill-tempered Jim Buckridge (David Wenham). Jim and his gang run the town, especially when it comes to catching crayfish. The last thing anyone wants to do is cross them, because Jim and his buddies will often respond violently. One night, Georgie goes for a swim and meets Lu Fox (Garrett Hedlund), a hunky poacher who takes to the bay in the evenings to steal from Jim’s fish traps. She is instantly drawn to the man, and the two begin an intense affair. It’s revealed that the Foxes and Buckridges have a long, uneasy history and, fearing Jim’s fury after he discovers their tryst, Lu flees to an isolated island. Fearing the worst, especially with Lu’s depressed mental state and crippling grief over a tragic accident years ago, Georgie decides to head North to find him. The story isn’t the best, and as with many films based on novels, it feels like m…

'Dirt Music' asks us to embrace two lost characters who eventually go to the edge of the earth to find themselves. Unfortunately, for us, they remain strangers to the end. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-dirt-music-a-typically-flawed-tim-winton-adaptation

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