Ah yes: the opportunistic city slicker who exits the fast lane and rediscovers the important things in life. This is usually achieved via interactions with other people: in Rain Man, for instance, Tom Cruise\u2019s money-hungry collectibles dealer spends time with his estranged brother, who inspires him to see the world differently. In the family film Kangaroo, Ryan Corr\u2019s character Chris nurses an adorable joey back to health \u2013 a process that reinvigorates him spiritually and provides the audience with many cute-tastic moments: \u201cI WANT ONE, I WANT ONE!\u201d<\/p>\n
Director Kate Woods \u2013 helming her first feature since 2000\u2019s Looking for Alibrandi \u2013 crafts a redemption narrative, though the film isn\u2019t prepared to really sully its protagonist. Chris is hardly a villain, though he does work in the seventh circle of hell (commonly known as \u201cbreakfast television\u201d) and triggers a situation that leads to a dolphin\u2019s death after he jumps into the ocean and attempts to save it (this scene should remind all youngsters to never attempt anything brave).<\/p>\n
As punishment from the gods, Chris loses his job and gets stranded in a small outback town, following in the footsteps of tortured souls a la John Grant from Wake in Fright<\/a> and Teddy from Welcome to Woop Woop<\/a>. But there\u2019s an upside: Chris gets to raise a joey after running over its mother.<\/p>\n Wait, let\u2019s make that sound nicer: Chris gets to raise a joey following another accident that\u2019s sort of his fault but not really condemnable. He tries to offload the cute little thing, but soon realises he\u2019s its only chance.<\/p>\n \u2018The film\u2019s optimistic, perhaps slightly naive spirit\u2019: Lily Whiteley as Charlie. Photograph: Bradley Patrick<\/p>\n The protagonist\u2019s path intersects with Charlie (Lily Whiteley), a sweet-natured Indigenous girl who embodies the film\u2019s optimistic, perhaps slightly naive spirit. She really loves kangaroos and would ordinarily have taken care of the joey but, in a narratively convenient development, has recently been instructed by her mother Rosie (Deborah Mailman) to scale back her roo-related activities.<\/p>\n Charlie\u2019s grandparents Gwennie (Trisha Morton-Thomas) and Ralph (Wayne Blair) allow Chris to stay in their shack-like guest house, where (the horror!) there\u2019s no shower, toilet, or room service.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fun to see Chris thrown out of his comfort zone and poked a bit, even if things come a little easy to him. As soon as Chris invites the joey into his bed, you know his journey to become a better person is more or less complete, with subsequent events \u2013 including the inevitable temptation to return to his previous life \u2013 feeling like box-ticking. The half-hearted deployment of a nefarious character \u2013 a rough bloke who insists he has a right to kill roos \u2013 is such a calculated move from the writers (Harry Cripps and Melina Marchetta) that it feels almost cynical.<\/p>\n Chris ends up endearing himself to the locals \u2013 including Charlie\u2019s mum Rosie (Deborah Mailman). Photograph: Bradley Patrick<\/p>\n Tonally, the experience is about right, Woods imbuing Kangaroo with pleasing rhythms and a generally even pace. It\u2019s certainly not in a hurry \u2013 big dramatic events are few and far between \u2013 and while it\u2019s not slow, the film\u2019s joints begin to feel a little heavy into the second hour as the plot becomes more episodic with Chris participating in community events and endearing himself to the locals. All the performances are pretty good, but nobody knocks it out of the park.<\/p>\n