DVD Review: Innocence (B+)

Innocence (2000)
Directed by Paul Cox
Starring Julia Blake, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Robert Menzies, Terry Norris and Kristien Van Pellicom
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

One of the beautiful things about the online DVD rental service NetFlix is the ability to set up queues of DVDs, and then allow them to arrive some time in the future, almost as if by surprise. The film Innocence showed up at my house a while back and honestly, I still can't remember even choosing it. Befuddled, I sat the disc on my DVD player and there it rested for a month before i finally popped it in. Honestly, my thoughts were "oh well, might as well find out what the heck this is".

What a marvelous surprise to watch the delightful romantic drama Innocence unfold. Innocence is a superbly acted, finely directed love triangle that just happens to have a twist to it: the people involved are in their twilight years. A couple finds each other years after 40 years apart. Andreas and Claire were young lovers that broke up, found other loves, married and were seemingly never to see each other again. However, neither has forgotten the other and as the shadow of death creeps into the picture, they seem to be drawn to each other once again.

The acting of Julia Blake in Innocence is astonishing. With so many emotions overtaking her she often is driven to tears, anger, or both. Blake's portrayal of the Claire garnered her the 2001 Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actress.

If you are looking for a well acted, tightly directed love triangle drama (with a slightly unusual twist) Innocence is about as good as it gets. Buy it or rent it, but for heaven's sake, don't wait too long. Highly recommended.

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