''Closed for Winter'' is a 2009 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

starring

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian and British singer and actress. Born and raised in New South Wales, Imbruglia became widely known in the early 1990s playing Beth Brennan in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. A ...

. It is based on Georgia Blain's critically acclaimed novel of the same title. The film was produced by Goalpost Pictures.

Cast

as Elise * Daniel Frederiksen as Martin * Deborah Kennedy as Dorothy * Tony Martin as John Mills * Danielle Catanzariti as Frances * Tiahn Green * Sophie Ross

Synopsis

The film depicts the emotional and poetic story of a beautiful young woman, Elise, who is haunted by a tragic event in her youth. As she attempts to piece together the mystery of her sister's disappearance at the beach, 20 years before when both were children, Elise must face dark family secrets that have remained unspoken. As the past is revealed, she at last finds the courage to begin to live.

Release

The film premiered at the Adelaide International Film Festival on 27 February 2009. On 23 April 2009, it received a theatrical release at select cinemas in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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 ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and

Noosa The Shire of Noosa () is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it w ...

Reception

The film has garnered a generally positive critical reception. The

Adelaide Film Festival The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF, formerly ADLFF) is a film festival usually held for two weeks in mid-October in movie theater, cinemas in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally presented wikt:Special:Search/biennial, biennially in March from 2 ...

reviewer praised Imbruglia's "impressive" performance and continued to state that "The beach and the missing child are both motifs which have a powerful place in Australian culture as well as having a particularly local resonance." ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' described the film as "compelling" and praised the performances of Imbruglia and Green. The cinematography of Kim Batterham was also praised. The reviewer expressed that the screenplay should have broadened its emotional range. ''

ABC Australia The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

'' gave the film three stars and praised Imbruglia's and Green's performances. The reviewer was also enthusiastic about Batterham's cinematography but expressed regret at some of the casting. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' also gave the film three stars. The reviewer remarked on Imbruglia's "impressive" performance. '' Variety'' agreed with several previous reviewers, praising Imbruglia's performance—"Believably expressing what it must be like to live with ungovernable sorrow, the actress proves to have much more than just a face the camera adores"—as well as that of other cast members: "Younger cast members also impress." The reviewer, however, craved greater dialogue and did not feel that Elise (Imbruglia) and co-worker Martin (Frederiksen) were a believable couple. The reviewer concluded with exemplary comments on the technical aspects of the film, describing it as "first class", and going on to say, "Kim Batterham's striking widescreen imagery casts a warm glow over the youthful summer flashbacks, with tighter, cooler framing for Elise's troubled present. Rita Zanchetta's outstanding production design features Dorothy's house as a time-frozen mausoleum of anguish that creaks and groans with what seems to be its own shallow breath."

Box office

''Closed For Winter'' grossed $53,370 at the box office in Australia.

References

External links

* * from Goalpost Pictures *
National Library of Australia entry for the source novel (catalogue persistent identifier)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Closed For Winter 2009 films 2009 drama films Films shot in Adelaide Australian drama films 2000s English-language films English-language drama films