Review #54: 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (1975)

Picnic At Hanging Rock opens on the serenity and excitement of Appleyard College, an all-girls school on St Valentine's day in 1900. As the girls run around, celebrating the day, it is announced that there is to be a trip to hanging rock, a local geological site where millions of years previous, a volcanic eruption formed a very distinctive cluster of rocks, containing many hidden cracks, and passageways to explore. The film is based on the true story of four girls who break away from the titles picnic group to take a closer look at hanging rock. They venture into the labyrinthine rock formations. Only one of the four return, dazed and confused, having no memory of what happened. One of their teachers had earlier gone looking for the foursome and still not returned.

What happens after this is the obvious search and rescue routine. The spread of the story also has an effect on the school, which begins to fail financially, and the head mistress turns to drink. In these searches only one girl is ever found. She also has no memory of what happened. I'm trying not to go into too many details of the narrative itself, as I feel that it is pretty self explanatory from a small synopsis. What is incredible, and distinctive about the film is its visual beauty. This is not to say that the story is not good. It is a story of loss and the effects this has on the people involved and surrounding the incident. Much like the effects that the death of Laura Palmer had on the population of Twin Peaks.

This was Peter Weirs second feature film after the excellent pseudo-exploitation movie The Cars That Ate Paris (1974). It is a piece of cinema that displays great direction, and an ability to work with actors. This is completely founded by Weirs subsequent work. This film also opened him up to American offers, as it was viewed as a prestige picture, more than likely viewed in the same vein as British costume dramas are in Hollywood. It also opened up Australia as a significant contender in the world cinema market.

The opening half of the film, particularly the scenes around the rock have an ethereal quality. This is exacerbated by a sound design that creates an unnerving atmosphere. The various sounds of wind reverberating through rocks, crevices and trees portray an impending sense of doom. The visuals also stunning here complimenting the sound design and incredible musical score. The visuals have a hazy, dream-like quality in these scenes. Cinematographer, Russell Boyd did clearly do a good job, even in the eyes of Weir, as they collaborated on much of his subsequent work.

Two of the four girls and the teacher who went searching for them were never found (and still their disappearance is a mystery). I like this kind of ambiguity. It is a natural element of life, and a narrative form that should be utilised more often. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, and found its visual beauty illuminating. If I were the type of person to rate things with stars, I would undoubtedly give this full marks. A great introduction to an impressive filmmaker.


Directed by: Peter Weir
Starring: Rachel Roberts, Vivean Gray, Helen Morse
Country: Australia

Rating: *****

Marc Ivamy