LIAM NEESON LAURA LINNEY
ANTONIO BANDERAS DIR. RICHARD EYRE
DRAMA 2008
Romance? Thriller? Taken meets The
Talented Mr Ripley? Well, yes actually.
In this latest ‘affair’ from director Richard Eyre, (of Notes on a Scandal fame) Peter (Neeson), a wealthy and successful software designer must come to terms with the fact that his wife Lisa (Linney) may have been unfaithful to him when overseas.
Loving husband that he is, Peter is
determined to identify the other man and follows the clues to
exquisite Milan to track him down and confront him.
The Other Man in question turns out to be the dashing Rafe, (Banderas) a man of the world who, as Peter discovers, may not be all that he seems.
Or is any of it as it seems?
Liam Neeson has come a long way from guest spots on Miami Vice and here gives another emotional and engaging performance as a stable, confident husband unravelling in his pursuit of the truth and reasons behind his wife’s infidelity and what it means to their marriage.
Laura Linney doesn’t give too much away as Lisa, but is
convincing in her portrayal of a woman in love with two men, but in different ways for different reasons. She maintains a level of grace, integrity and dignity throughout, not traits usually
attributed to the typical “cheating wife” character.
According to my wife, Antonio is perfect casting for Rafe,
because if a woman was going to stray, you could do worse than Antonio Banderas... Here he is still likeable, not quite Puss in Boots, but it is hard to dislike him, and even in some parts he even evokes sympathy. Rafe is a layered role which Banderas handles with aplomb.
Shot in shades of grey, perhaps to represent the lack of clear black and white side to this tale, The Other Man is a story about
knowing someone well, and loving someone so much that you cant bear to hurt them, even if that means hiding something from them.
This one will raise a number of questions and discussions within relationships, and many will not agree with some of the outcomes in the film, of course. However The Other Man is not a tawdry Indecent Proposal piece of drivel, but an emotive piece on acceptance and unconditional love.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Young Drivers
A couple of weeks ago now, it was Fathers Day.
I was lucky enough to receive bacon, eggs and a steaming cup of coffee from my family. But there was another family whom
instead received news that their son had been killed in a horrific car “accident”.
I cannot begin to imagine the pain that boy’s family felt and is still feeling. My heart goes out to them. They have my sincerest condolences. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever.
Tragedy is something we can’t avoid. I knew a girl back many years ago, who for her twenty first birthday present, died from the cancer that had rapidly riddled her body.
Tragic accidents and events occur every day.
They are unavoidable. But tragedy as a result of pure selfish stupidity is not an accident.
It is negligence.
I would like to think that the boy was driving in a manner to suit the wet conditions and undulating road. That he had not had a drop of alcohol all night. That he wasn’t doing double the speed limit.
That he was taking all necessary precautions possible and doing his best to ensure the safety of his four friends as he controlled the vehicle.
But we all know what happened by now. The speeds that were reached. That caution wasn’t exercised.
And the price that has been paid.
Also spare a thought for the motorist who found the wreckage. No doubt he still sees it sometimes when he closes his eyes. And the police officers that have to attend these crashes time and time again. To try and remain calm and objective in the face of a scene that most people of this era don’t often, if ever, have to deal with. And then there is their unenviable task of informing the families.
Think also about the medical staff, from the ambulance officers to the surgeons and nurses, who have to try and work miracles and repair damage that should never have been done.
.
So how best to avoid this in the future? We can’t implant experience in to young drivers. It has to be gained themselves. And that’s dangerous. I don’t think the new and well overdue “high power” vehicle restrictions for learner and probationary drivers is enough. As far as I can tell, it just means that new drivers cant have a turbo or supercharger, nor an engine of eight cylinders or more. It is fact that a four cylinder standard Corolla can exceed 130kph, and that when it does it certainly isn't handling well. So it would still be dangerous and a crash waiting to happen in the hands of an over confident, fearless P plater. There needs to be definitive engine output restrictions also. Nothing over 90 odd kilowatts, perhaps?
Now, yes, this reduces the choice of vehicle for a young person just starting out in the world and spreading their wings. So then why not use some of our registration and stamp duty taxes to have speed limiters fitted to “P” plate cars as another option?
Automobile manufacturers have been fitting them for years where an engines performance is beyond the handling capabilities of the car itself.
And if Stevo’s older brother happens to be an auto electrician who could take it off for a carton of beer, then the penalty for illegal tampering with a limiter should involve jail time.
When the kid passes another test later and is handed their full license, then they take the car to the RAA or wherever and the limiter is professionally removed.
It’ll cost money, but don’t we value our kids more?
Perhaps I sound too harsh and out of touch. Maybe. But my son is on his “L” plates and I trust him completely, but I would have no hesitation were these restrictions applied to him. In fact, I have applied restrictions within our home in relation to his driving arrangements. We have raised him to be responsible and to respect the fact that a motor vehicle is not a plaything but a dangerous, deadly weapon if misused. the same as my old man drilled into me back in the day.
I trust our son but there is no way in Hell that I’d let him behind the wheel of a V8 Commodore until he has a lot more experience under his belt.
Our kids have to be responsible for their actions in the end, of course, but it’s my responsibility now to make sure he doesn’t even get the means to drive at 180kmh at his age.
It’s my responsibility to have at least some idea where he is at 4 ‘o clock in the morning.
It’s my role to love, to teach and to guide our son into adulthood.
And I feel truly awful for the parents who have just had that ripped away from them...
I was lucky enough to receive bacon, eggs and a steaming cup of coffee from my family. But there was another family whom
instead received news that their son had been killed in a horrific car “accident”.
I cannot begin to imagine the pain that boy’s family felt and is still feeling. My heart goes out to them. They have my sincerest condolences. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever.
Tragedy is something we can’t avoid. I knew a girl back many years ago, who for her twenty first birthday present, died from the cancer that had rapidly riddled her body.
Tragic accidents and events occur every day.
They are unavoidable. But tragedy as a result of pure selfish stupidity is not an accident.
It is negligence.
I would like to think that the boy was driving in a manner to suit the wet conditions and undulating road. That he had not had a drop of alcohol all night. That he wasn’t doing double the speed limit.
That he was taking all necessary precautions possible and doing his best to ensure the safety of his four friends as he controlled the vehicle.
But we all know what happened by now. The speeds that were reached. That caution wasn’t exercised.
And the price that has been paid.
Also spare a thought for the motorist who found the wreckage. No doubt he still sees it sometimes when he closes his eyes. And the police officers that have to attend these crashes time and time again. To try and remain calm and objective in the face of a scene that most people of this era don’t often, if ever, have to deal with. And then there is their unenviable task of informing the families.
Think also about the medical staff, from the ambulance officers to the surgeons and nurses, who have to try and work miracles and repair damage that should never have been done.
.
So how best to avoid this in the future? We can’t implant experience in to young drivers. It has to be gained themselves. And that’s dangerous. I don’t think the new and well overdue “high power” vehicle restrictions for learner and probationary drivers is enough. As far as I can tell, it just means that new drivers cant have a turbo or supercharger, nor an engine of eight cylinders or more. It is fact that a four cylinder standard Corolla can exceed 130kph, and that when it does it certainly isn't handling well. So it would still be dangerous and a crash waiting to happen in the hands of an over confident, fearless P plater. There needs to be definitive engine output restrictions also. Nothing over 90 odd kilowatts, perhaps?
Now, yes, this reduces the choice of vehicle for a young person just starting out in the world and spreading their wings. So then why not use some of our registration and stamp duty taxes to have speed limiters fitted to “P” plate cars as another option?
Automobile manufacturers have been fitting them for years where an engines performance is beyond the handling capabilities of the car itself.
And if Stevo’s older brother happens to be an auto electrician who could take it off for a carton of beer, then the penalty for illegal tampering with a limiter should involve jail time.
When the kid passes another test later and is handed their full license, then they take the car to the RAA or wherever and the limiter is professionally removed.
It’ll cost money, but don’t we value our kids more?
Perhaps I sound too harsh and out of touch. Maybe. But my son is on his “L” plates and I trust him completely, but I would have no hesitation were these restrictions applied to him. In fact, I have applied restrictions within our home in relation to his driving arrangements. We have raised him to be responsible and to respect the fact that a motor vehicle is not a plaything but a dangerous, deadly weapon if misused. the same as my old man drilled into me back in the day.
I trust our son but there is no way in Hell that I’d let him behind the wheel of a V8 Commodore until he has a lot more experience under his belt.
Our kids have to be responsible for their actions in the end, of course, but it’s my responsibility now to make sure he doesn’t even get the means to drive at 180kmh at his age.
It’s my responsibility to have at least some idea where he is at 4 ‘o clock in the morning.
It’s my role to love, to teach and to guide our son into adulthood.
And I feel truly awful for the parents who have just had that ripped away from them...
Schapelle Corby article - Coastal Views magazine Sept 2010
Original Writing date 9th August 2010
Recently it was reported that Schapelle Corby, convicted somehow of drug trafficking in Bali, has suffered a mental break after years in Kerobokan Prison. It could be that she receives clemency from the court and their may be a reduction in her sentence. Maybe. This prompted me to do a bit of reading on her situation. After trawling the internet and reading her book “My Story”, I found myself feeling drained and helplessly frustrated for her. Yes, a 4.2 kilo bag of marijuana was found in her boogie board bag after she voluntarily showed it to Balinese Customs officers. But other than that, there was not a shred of evidence to indicate it was hers and not planted. Fingerprints were not taken. Airport security footage from Sydney Airport, from which she departed Australia, was destroyed. Baggage was not weighed on arrival and compared against its departure weight. Testimonies from other parties indicating her innocence were ignored; including that said airport had workers with criminal histories and was being looked at by Australian Federal Police previously. None of this was factored in. She didn’t stand a chance from the start. She was to be used as an example, guilty or not.
There was a public outcry in Australia when Corby was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking by the Balinese kangaroo court. The Australian government, I believe, did have some kind of dialogue with the Indonesian government and at one stage it looked like Schapelle was going to be allowed to serve out her sentence in Australia in some type of prisoner exchange, but the Indonesians suddenly became uncooperative and the deal was off. Because they are making shed-loads of money out of having Schapelle locked up in their prison, with media parasites exploiting her by paying for photos of her that they can sell on to Woman’s Day and all the other gossip rags.
And so that was that, then. Forget it.
And this is the crux of this column; Australia asked a favour of its tiny neighbor. A neighbor that receives aid money from Australia and a substantial chunk of tourism as well. Yet, they were unwilling to accommodate an important request. Worse yet, Australia appeared to have not taken umbrage to that. Prime Minister at the time Howard didn’t seem to do anything further at all. Oh well, tried. Off for a jog now, in my patriotic tracksuit…
Don’t get me wrong, I am not falling for any “Schapelle Hype”, (Gossip mags and sensationalist news programs are best avoided when you want facts) I am fully aware that there are many Aussies imprisoned overseas who don’t receive nearly so much media attention as Corby. But if you take the Bali Nine, for example, they were actually caught with drugs on them. That can’t be planted and there was a heck of a lot more evidence. Even the bird who nicked the bar mat was in fact guilty of the act.
Alexander Downer wrote an article last year in the Advertiser indicating that Australians overseas should be responsible for their own actions and have to accept the foreign countries laws and customs and abide by them. If you don’t, then you are on your own. Hey, I agree with Al. One hundred per cent.
But Corby’s case was dodgy from the get go. And we all know that if it was Downer’s kid locked in a Bali jail when he was Foreign Minister, or even Steve now for that matter, then there would have been an SAS strike to free her, as if it were an act of war.
‘Cos I would have for my kid. Everything changes when it’s in your own backyard.
And in this Pacific region back yard, Australia is the top dog. I’m not being biased; just look at the others. Whenever anything goes wrong, like in Fiji or East Timor for example, it is Australia that is expected to go in and get it sorted. And that’s fine, it’s a privilege. So long as these islands and smaller nations respect this and reciprocate appropriately.
But it seems that Australia is not respected anymore. And the people we have elected to power are reluctant to use it, unless asked to by an American.
So it seems that not only can Bali take aid and tourism dollars but it can also incarcerate our citizens without proper trial on trumped up charges, without evidence and even make a profit from them. And no one does anything about it.
PM Julia Gillard apparently is supportive of a clemency decision for Schapelle. But by the time this has gone to print and you are actually reading it, we will have had an election…. And being supportive is along way from a decisive action. Who knows maybe a female Prime Minister would be man enough to stand up for our nation and demand results?
But I will leave you with these thoughts; imagine yourself (or your sister or your daughter or any loved one, for that matter) locked up for years for something you didn’t do, that someone else did, and is getting away with it…
Imagine mentally reliving everyday, that fateful moment when you opened up your bag in a foreign airport to find it full of drugs that you didn’t put in there. Imagine being in a tiny disgusting cell, during the prime of your life when you were supposed to be out living and having fun. Imagine knowing the world had violated what was your life and turned it into nothing more than a story for magazines. Your old life was gone but everyone else’s was going on without you. Imagine knowing your mind is beginning to crack and there was nothing you could do about it because you were wrongly trapped in a prison with no one to help you.
So, how does it feel?
Recently it was reported that Schapelle Corby, convicted somehow of drug trafficking in Bali, has suffered a mental break after years in Kerobokan Prison. It could be that she receives clemency from the court and their may be a reduction in her sentence. Maybe. This prompted me to do a bit of reading on her situation. After trawling the internet and reading her book “My Story”, I found myself feeling drained and helplessly frustrated for her. Yes, a 4.2 kilo bag of marijuana was found in her boogie board bag after she voluntarily showed it to Balinese Customs officers. But other than that, there was not a shred of evidence to indicate it was hers and not planted. Fingerprints were not taken. Airport security footage from Sydney Airport, from which she departed Australia, was destroyed. Baggage was not weighed on arrival and compared against its departure weight. Testimonies from other parties indicating her innocence were ignored; including that said airport had workers with criminal histories and was being looked at by Australian Federal Police previously. None of this was factored in. She didn’t stand a chance from the start. She was to be used as an example, guilty or not.
There was a public outcry in Australia when Corby was sentenced to 20 years for trafficking by the Balinese kangaroo court. The Australian government, I believe, did have some kind of dialogue with the Indonesian government and at one stage it looked like Schapelle was going to be allowed to serve out her sentence in Australia in some type of prisoner exchange, but the Indonesians suddenly became uncooperative and the deal was off. Because they are making shed-loads of money out of having Schapelle locked up in their prison, with media parasites exploiting her by paying for photos of her that they can sell on to Woman’s Day and all the other gossip rags.
And so that was that, then. Forget it.
And this is the crux of this column; Australia asked a favour of its tiny neighbor. A neighbor that receives aid money from Australia and a substantial chunk of tourism as well. Yet, they were unwilling to accommodate an important request. Worse yet, Australia appeared to have not taken umbrage to that. Prime Minister at the time Howard didn’t seem to do anything further at all. Oh well, tried. Off for a jog now, in my patriotic tracksuit…
Don’t get me wrong, I am not falling for any “Schapelle Hype”, (Gossip mags and sensationalist news programs are best avoided when you want facts) I am fully aware that there are many Aussies imprisoned overseas who don’t receive nearly so much media attention as Corby. But if you take the Bali Nine, for example, they were actually caught with drugs on them. That can’t be planted and there was a heck of a lot more evidence. Even the bird who nicked the bar mat was in fact guilty of the act.
Alexander Downer wrote an article last year in the Advertiser indicating that Australians overseas should be responsible for their own actions and have to accept the foreign countries laws and customs and abide by them. If you don’t, then you are on your own. Hey, I agree with Al. One hundred per cent.
But Corby’s case was dodgy from the get go. And we all know that if it was Downer’s kid locked in a Bali jail when he was Foreign Minister, or even Steve now for that matter, then there would have been an SAS strike to free her, as if it were an act of war.
‘Cos I would have for my kid. Everything changes when it’s in your own backyard.
And in this Pacific region back yard, Australia is the top dog. I’m not being biased; just look at the others. Whenever anything goes wrong, like in Fiji or East Timor for example, it is Australia that is expected to go in and get it sorted. And that’s fine, it’s a privilege. So long as these islands and smaller nations respect this and reciprocate appropriately.
But it seems that Australia is not respected anymore. And the people we have elected to power are reluctant to use it, unless asked to by an American.
So it seems that not only can Bali take aid and tourism dollars but it can also incarcerate our citizens without proper trial on trumped up charges, without evidence and even make a profit from them. And no one does anything about it.
PM Julia Gillard apparently is supportive of a clemency decision for Schapelle. But by the time this has gone to print and you are actually reading it, we will have had an election…. And being supportive is along way from a decisive action. Who knows maybe a female Prime Minister would be man enough to stand up for our nation and demand results?
But I will leave you with these thoughts; imagine yourself (or your sister or your daughter or any loved one, for that matter) locked up for years for something you didn’t do, that someone else did, and is getting away with it…
Imagine mentally reliving everyday, that fateful moment when you opened up your bag in a foreign airport to find it full of drugs that you didn’t put in there. Imagine being in a tiny disgusting cell, during the prime of your life when you were supposed to be out living and having fun. Imagine knowing the world had violated what was your life and turned it into nothing more than a story for magazines. Your old life was gone but everyone else’s was going on without you. Imagine knowing your mind is beginning to crack and there was nothing you could do about it because you were wrongly trapped in a prison with no one to help you.
So, how does it feel?
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