Subdivision

Australian Comedy

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

R4

First there was The Castle, a nice little film about typical Australians fighting off big corporations. It verged on caricature (although not as much as Crocodile Dundee) and has now become something of a cult film. If you liked The Castle you will love Subdivision. Aussies at work and at the football, a casual pace of life with quite a lot of beer involved, and a conflict between youth and its elders.

Set in the Queensland town of Hervey Bay the film revolves around Digger Kelly (Gary Sweet), a long-time house builder. He is old school, meticulous, thorough and dedicated to his work. Unfortunately he sticks to the old, slow ways at a time of change. His son Jack would like to update their methods but Digger, who has all the tact of a charging bull, won’t have it. The local builders get their work from property developer and salesman Harry McKee (it’s good to see Steve Bisley on film again). Harry has also failed to keep abreast of the times – he still designs houses with one bathroom, even for families with four kids. It can’t last.

Following yet another blow-up with Digger, young Jack decides to go out on his own. He couldn’t pick a worse time. Attracted by the undeveloped nature of the area and the lack of real competition, a large southern firm, SeaBrix, moves in. They offer more modern homes at lower prices. They build houses with more than one bathroom. In charge is Tiffany (Brooke Satchwell). Jack pursues her and the two become friends although Tiffany seems more amused by Jack’s attempts to woo her. Jack also takes the opportunity to look at some of SeaBrix’s confidential information about costs and suppliers.

Then the axe falls. With SeaBrix taking so much of Harry’s work he goes insolvent. Digger, who is waiting for progress payments for the houses he was building for Harry, looks like going broke as well. All his men will also be unemployed and broke and at least one will lose his home. Is there a way out of this? There is, but it will involve cooperation between the old and the young, the big and the small. Will Digger be able to adjust to this?

The basic story is one that has occurred around Australia. It is a disaster for the people and the towns involved and the film brings this out well. The film is lightened by the frequent flashes of humour, though, so it rarely gets too heavy. For instance I loved the scene in the hospital where Jack is “helping” Digger’s daughter through childbirth. He encourages her like he is coaching his football team, screaming instructions and encouragement at her at a range of a few feet. The final whale watching scene of the film is a beauty and worth waiting for.

By international standards the film is probably not great cinema but as a really feelgood film it gets top marks. Its initial cinema release fell flat, partly due to the writings of critics who wanted something with more depth. It is not intended to be deep, apart from the problem of little businesses being forced to the wall. It’s just a good bit of entertainment and I loved it. Now it is to be released on DVD I think it will find a place in Australian cult cinema alongside The Castle.

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