The Ending of Picnic at Hanging Rock

November 5, 2008 by Chris · Comments Off
Filed under: Lessons Learned

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Awhile back I wrote about rediscovering a movie from my past, “Picnic at Hanging Rock”.

I rented the movie from Netflix. Then as now, the movie captivated me. The scenery. The score. The acting. Beautiful.

So much mystery surrounded the original story. True? Not true? At the time I mentioned the mysterious 18th chapter that author, Joan Lindsay, published posthumously. So, being the curious type I am, I located the ending.

No, no spoilers here, but a word of caution—don’t bother. My goodness, it was so totally against anything I might have hoped for with this movie. Did the author draw herself in such a corner? I’m convinced now that Joan Lindsay is having the last laugh.

To my readers who did their bit of detective work as well, I humbly apologize. Photo by Looking Glass

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Picnic At Hanging Rock

September 2, 2008 by Chris · 1 Comment
Filed under: Reviews

A recent blog post from the Kill Zone took me back to a time when I first saw the movie, Picnic at Hanging Rock. I don’t remember the exact circumstances of seeing the movie, other than it involved a former boyfriend. I remember that the movie haunted me. Set in the early 1900s, the movie deals with the disappearance of three students and a teacher during a school outing at Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock is the popular name for Mount Diogenes, in Victoria, Australia.

Supposedly the movie is pure fiction, but the delicate handling of director, Peter Weir, draws the viewer so into the plot that one can scarcely believe that it’s not real. The movie is well-cast. The main character, Miranda played by Anne-Louise Lambert, is mesmerizing. The movie offers up a bit of sexual tension and Lambert delivers. She is beautiful on set and equally beautifully filmed.

I suppose another aspect of the movie that makes it so compelling is its dreamlike quality. Author, Joan Lindsay, also added to the mystery, never divulging the fiction/non-fiction elements of the story. Posthumously published, the mysterious 18th chapter revealed the ending.

The story had the elements writers yearn for: a strong mystery, an enduring plot, memorable characters, a unique setting. I just added “Picnic At Hanging Rock” to the top of my queue at Netflix src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=3/HpICi*FIY&bids=78684.10000008&type=3&subid=0"/>
. I’m anxious to see how I view this movie with writer’s eyes.