Actions have consequences, but all too often in life they’re not the ones we have foreseen. That’s one of the things teenage Grace (Odessa Young) has to learn in this densely layered ensemble drama from Australian filmmaker Sue Brooks (Japanese Story). All Grace wanted to do was go see her favorite band – and maybe send a message to her dad (Richard Roxburgh) while she’s about it. But the distances are great, and when she allows herself to be picked up by a cool young guy on the bus, well, that’s when her original intentions become more or less irrelevant.
Brooks approaches this relatively straightforward narrative from various vantage points and differing time periods. It’s a technique that brings out all the emotional cross-currents at play, and engenders suspense and foreboding – as well as some intentionally jarring tonal shifts.