Thank God He Met Lizzie


Director: Cherie Nowlan.

Starring: Richard Roxburgh, Cate Blanchett, Frances O'Connor, Linden Wilkinson, John Gaden.

At first look, Thank God He Met Lizzie is a pleasant enough movie, following similar territory to Dust Off The Wings: a man getting married in Sydney. There the similarity ends. Whereas Dust Off The Wings is a badly acted, cheaply mad, trashy film, Thank God He Met Lizzie is a well put together, professional looking film with superb performances all round.

Going in to this movie, all I knew about it was the poster with Ms. Cate Blanchett (Lizzie) and Mr. Richard Roxburgh (Guy) in wedding regalia with Ms. Frances O'Connor (Jenny) standing behind them. For some strange reason, I thought this was a period drama; I think it was the style of the wedding dress. I was very surprised to find it a contemporary film.

Mr. Roxburgh is absolutely brilliant as the slightly awkward Guy, desperately looking for someone with whom he can settle down. He has just the right mixture of niceness and dagginess to make his character convincing: someone who would make a lovely partner but would have a bit of trouble meeting new people. Ms. O'Connor, as ever, holds her own as the previous girlfriend bringing a huge dose of vitality to a very quiet film. The role of Lizzie, in spite of being the title role, is a much smaller one. We never get to really know her but Ms. Blanchett manages to convey a sense of warmth so that we understand, at least a little, why Guy wants to marry her.

Saying that the acting is good is not effusive praise, but this is a quiet little film. I found it very interesting. The characters were drawn in such a way that I wanted to know more about them and learn their stories. I found myself trying to work out what made these people tick and why they made the decisions that they did.

All of which makes the film sound like a dry, somber affair which it isn't. The minor roles which make up the rest of Thank God He Met Lizzie are slightly more exotic without succumbing to the depths of wacky Australian characters. They provide the humour of the film. The weakest of these was Jenny's father, a role which we've seen a few times before.

My main quibble with the film is the sound quality but this could be a fault of the movie theatre. At times, people talking over the top of one another is used effectively such as at the opening scene at the party where snippets of conversations can be heard. In other places, however, it only serves to distract from the main action which I found annoying.

Unlike Dust Off The Wings, Thank God He Met Lizzie asks some interesting questions about marriage and commitment and about relationships in general: about meeting the right people and how we decide who are the right people. One of its best features is that it doesn't try to present the solution in a neat little Hollywood ending; throughout the movie, we never really understand anyone but rather, get a glimpse in to their lives, a bit like real life. As such, some may find Thank God He Met Lizzie a bit dissatisfying. For my money, it is a very enjoyable film that will have me thinking about it for quite a while.

Rating: D

© Nikki Lesley 1997