As the old saying goes, there’s two sides to every story. However, Looking for Grace takes this a few steps further by describing the journey of one Australian family from five different perspectives.
Created by multi-award winning director Sue Brooks (Japanese Story, Road To Nhill), Looking for Grace is an intimate and funny, yet emotive story about the complexities of family life.
The plot follows Grace, a rebellious 16-year-old girl, as she runs away from home. From the outset Grace is on the move, and we can only follow as she passes through vast shots of the Australian outback. While the landscape is magnificently captured via a drone camera, the story starts off slowly with limited dialogue and is wrapped in mystery. It isn’t until we hear from Grace’s father, Dan (Richard Roxburgh), that the plot begins to emerge.
Her parents, worried sick about their daughter, enlist the help of close-to-retirement detective, Tom (Terry Norris). As parents Dan and Denise (Radha Mitchell) search for Grace, they are forced to confront the reality of the dwindling relationship between one another.
Filled with Australian wit in the toughest of situations, Looking for Grace reveals a journey of emotion, beauty and the devastation for a typical Australian family, revealing the trials and tribulations of both adolescence and middle-age.
Without giving too much away, Brooks inserts a visual metaphor in each shot toward the end. The viewer can’t help but notice that something is missing, and this clever use of cinematography to depict the journey of the family and the circumstances surrounding them.
Overall, Looking for Grace is a moving Australian story filled with humour and precious family moments. Brooks maintains her strong record of telling moving tales within the harsh Australian environment, and continues to evolve as one of our most compelling storytellers.
