''Strange Planet'' is a 1999 Australian dramedy film directed by

Emma-Kate Croghan Emma-Kate Croghan is an Australian film director and writer, known for her films ''Love and Other Catastrophes'' (1996) and '' Strange Planet'' (1999). The former was critically acclaimed and well-liked by audiences. She moved to the United St ...

and starring

Claudia Karvan Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress and producer. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in '' The Heartb ...

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. Known for her work predominantly in independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime ...

Alice Garner Alice Miriam Olivia Garner is an Australian actor, author, musician, teacher and historian. She is the daughter of Australian novelist and screenwriter Helen Garner and playwright, historian and actor Bill Garner. Acting life and career Garn ...

and

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonia ...

. The film takes place in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

between

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

1998 and January 2000. It was Croghan's follow up to ''

Love and Other Catastrophes ''Love and Other Catastrophes'' is a quirky 1996 Australian romantic comedy film featuring Frances O'Connor, Radha Mitchell, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Matt Day and Kym Gyngell. The film was the first full-length release by director ...

'' and used many of the same cast and crew.

Plot

The film explores the lives of three male friends and three female friends over the course of one year. Judy has an affair with her married boss. Sally is a party girl open to all experiences. Alice is morally strict but feels stuck. Ewan is a lawyer who hates the law. Joel is left by his wife. Neil is desperate for love.

Cast

as Judy *

as Alice *

as Sally * Tom Long as Ewan *

Aaron Jeffery Aaron C. Jeffery is a Logie Award-winning New Zealand-Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Watson in '' Water Rats'', as Alex Ryan in '' McLeod's Daughters'', and as Matt "Fletch" Fletcher in '' Wentworth''. Personal life ...

as Joel *

Gennie Nevinson Gennie Nevinson is a British-Australian actress. She is notable for her appearance in ''Muriel's Wedding''. Early life Born Rima J. C. Hoyes-Cock in London in 1951, Gennie Nevinson is the daughter of the late Jewish actress Nancy Nevinson (''ne ...

as Therapist *

Felix Williamson Felix Williamson (born 29 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Early life Williamson is the stepson of playwright David Williamson. From age 13–17, he trained at the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, Australia, learning the foundat ...

as Neil *

as Steven * Rebecca Frith as Amanda *

Ling-Hsueh Tang Ling Cooper Tang, formerly credited as Ling-Hsueh Tang, is a Chinese Australian actress. She became known for her role as Dr. Kylie Preece in the hospital drama TV series '' All Saints'' (1999-2002), and has starred in many TV series since, i ...

as Verna * Helen Thomson as Lulu * Marshall Napier as Robert *

Kate Beahan Kate Beahan (born 12 October 1974) is an Australian film actress. Beahan was born in Perth. She appeared mostly in movies and TV series in Australia. Her best-known American film role was playing Sister Willow Woodward in the 2006 horror remak ...

as Poppy *

Reg Mombassa Christopher O'Doherty, also known by the pseudonym Reg Mombassa, is a New Zealand-born Australian artist and musician. He is a founding member of the band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty). Ea ...

as Judy's father (cameo)

Production

At one stage it was planned that the film would be shot at the same time as another movie, ''Revolver'' which would be directed by Emma Kate Croghan while Stavros Kazantzidis would make ''Strange Planet''. However, in the end Croghan directed ''Planet'' and ''Revolver'' was never made. The

time lapse Time-lapse photography is a technique in which the frequency at which film frames are captured (the frame rate) is much lower than the frequency used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and th ...

footage of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...

was shot by a cameraman who was permitted to climb the bridge without a harness and spend 12 hours there overnight.''Strange Planet'' Emma Kate-Croghan DVD commentary track, 1999.

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

personally cleared the film's usage of her recording of " The Look of Love" only days before her death in March 1999.

Reception

The film was well-received critically but a disappointment commercially that received little marketing attention. In 2005, Croghan told ''The Age'': Croghan is yet to direct another feature film.Jim Schembri, "Aren't you...?", ''The Age'', 6 May 2005
Retrieved 12 November 2012

Plot

Cast

Production

Reception

References

External links