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Somersault

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Australia · 2004
1h 45m
Director Cate Shortland
Starring Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Erik Thomson
Genre Drama, Romance

Heidi is left with little choice but to leave home after she's caught red-handed with her mother's boyfriend. With few options, Heidi ends up in Jindabyne, a tourist community. Upon meeting Joe at a bar, she pursues a relationship with him and tries to find something resembling a normal home life and makes small strides by getting a job and finding a place to stay, but her relationship with Joe must overcome more than its share of hurdles.

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What are people saying?

What are critics saying?

50

Village Voice by

There are lots of ways to grow up. The method offered in this Australian drama is to do something awful and then flee from it.

75

New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

Shortland's script takes some unnecessary turns, mostly with Joe's drinking and sexual insecurities. But as long as it's focused on Heidi's predicament, it is riveting drama.

70

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

Ms. Shortland has announced her presence as a new filmmaker to be taken seriously, while her star, Abbie Cornish, gives a performance that starts impressively, and gets even better as it goes along.

80

L.A. Weekly by Scott Foundas

This remarkable film from Australia, the debut feature of writer-director Cate Shortland, moves to the lyrical rhythms and unhurried pace of a 1970s road movie.

75

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Watching the Australian coming-of-age film Somersault is a little like watching a fluffy white bunny hop through a minefield, one tiny spring away from becoming tonight's rabbit stew.

80

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

Somersault, which the Australian Film Institute garlanded with 13 awards, including best film, director, actor and actress (for Ms. Cornish's astonishing performance), is a movie about the looks on people's faces and the disparity between the surface and the roiling chaos beneath.

88

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Showcases a brilliantly realistic performance by Abbie Cornish as Heidi. She's a provocative mix of naivete and ripe, unbridled sexuality.

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