

Director: Ray Lawrence
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney, Chris Haywood

The official website
click
http://www.sonyclassics.com/jindabyne/

Synopsis
Based on the short story of So Much Water So Close to Home by Raymond Carver, the story tells of 4 men who think nothing much of a "harmless" act (in their opinion) but get themselves, their family and their community into trouble, including racial tension ...

My thoughts

What I like ...

(i) THE PLOT/PACING ...
Because I did not read any synopsis prior to watching, I have to admit that ...
-- the initial 5 minutes or so is engaging ...
-- the next 20-30 minutes is less thrilling ... they are "paving" the way as the film moves on to several protagonists and their daily lives. In a way, it is realistic about "normal" people but in another way, the audience may not know where the film is exactly going ... 
-- the last 1.5 hrs is engaging ... the moment we see the discovery of a corpse, the film grips and has remained engaging throughout ... that is why I end up liking the film ...

PS: for a moment, I did wonder if the film is based on a real story ... but later I gather, it is NOT ...

(ii) The INTERPRETATION
The film can be interpreted at several layers
-- at its simplest, it is just about 4 men who happen to do the wrong thing, and get the community into racial tensions ...
-- at another level, it may be about the Whites versus the Aborigines in Jindabyne (and Australia) ...
-- at other level, it may be about traditions/past versus modernization/future ...
-- and regardless of level, there are issues of life, death, love, hate, young, old, etc

(iii) THE ACTING ...
-- The performance by the two leads are particularly engaging (i.e., Gabriel Byrne, Laura Linney). They portray very well "normal" people who are flawed but can be empathized with ... should you hate them or pity them?!
-- The two kids also stole the show in some scenes ... wow ...

(iv) THE MUSIC
I like the soundtrack ... very haunting indeed ...

What could be better ...

(i) To some extent, I feel the starting shld be trimmed ... 
And to some extent, I think the ending is too "politically correct" ... the racial harmony tension becomes kind of resolved (dep on individuals, you may feel that it remains unresolved).
Also, I am okay with the very LAST scene, but I know that some people may be upset with that non resolution ...

Conclusion
Recommended, esp. the last two third of the film.
It comes across as a serious drama rather than a thriller ...

Some people may not like the ending though ...