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Cast: Laura Linney (Claire), Gabriel Byrne (Stewart)
Directed by: Ray Lawrence
Release date: April 2007
Based on the short story So Much Water So Close To Home by Raymond Carver

What would you do if you found the dead body of a girl by the roadside. Of course, you would call in the cops. But what if you are in the middle of nowhere with no phones and no way of getting in touch with civilization. Except through a grueling day-long drive. Now that’s a different situation altogether, . Most probably, we would let things be. Anyway she’s dead and there’s no helping her. So, why get involved. Raymond Carver takes this deceptively simple premise and builds a short story around it. I read it on the internet. It hides a tangled web of disturbing implications beneath its surface. In such a tale what’s most crucial is what you don’t see, what lurks just beyond the edges of the written word. Ray Lawrence expands this basic plot, adds a few elements of his own and makes a full length feature film. Highly acclaimed for his work in Lantana, here his directorial choices work for the most part. Jindabyne is an insightful, evocative film, which loses its step somewhat in the last reel.

Claire and Stewart are struggling to make their marriage work. From the beginning, we get hints that everything’s not alright with their relationship. They have a young child, who is having troubles of his own at school. The interferences of Claire’s mother-in-law don’t help. Events and actions from the past and possibly the future too, weigh in heavily over the present, like unseen, unwelcome guests at the dinner table. One weekend, Stewart leaves for his annual fishing trip into the mountains with three of his buddies. At the river, they discover the naked, dead body of an aboriginal girl. After some discussion, they tether her to a tree, so that she doesn’t float downstream. Obviously there’s no point in making the long hike back to the road. And proceed to enjoy their break. They fish and drink over the two days. On the third day, they drive back and inform the authorities. There’s a huge uproar over their irresponsible callous decision. The dead girl’s family and community understandably react with anger and outrage.

By choosing the race of the dead girl as he did, Ray Lawrence added an entirely new dimension to the story. Would Stewart and his friends have behaved differently if it had been a white girl or boy? They would like their answer to be in the negative. But then you can never tell how one is going to react in such situations. At the same time, Claire is shocked by her husband’s actions and his lack of remorse. She tries to set things right, to make up for what she feels is a monstrous action by her husband. She faces opposition from her friends and family. But she goes ahead. Why is she so desperate to have her apology accepted? Who is she doing this for? For herself or her husband or her family? All the time the audience knows who the killer is. He is shown in the first scene itself. He is walking around freely, living his inconspicuous life. This makes the idea of the crime all the more haunting.

Talking about the actors, how do I laud Laura Linney’s performance. Every time I see her in a movie, she blows me away with her versatility and skill. She is in a class all her own. Here too, she is mesmerizing as the agitated, disturbed wife nailing the character perfectly. She is ably supported by Gabriel Byrne as the tired husband, who can’t get what is he doing wrong.

The last part is supposed to be redemptive, bringing a healing touch to the lives of the protagonists. But it didn’t’ work for me. Stewart’s transition was too abrupt and convenient. I might have preferred a more ambiguous and exploratory ending.

Ray Lawrence has attempted to pack in a large number of themes. It is a contemplation on the amoral nature of society, how it might affect lives on a personal plane. It also deals with thorny questions of race. But it does not exactly manage to bring anything new to the table on the race issues. Where it succeeds fabulously is in dealing with the impact of Stewart’s actions on his family and his fragile relationship with Claire. And it deserves to be watched for its subtlety and maturity on that front.