Lantana

Saw Lantana, a film about the intersecting lives of four couples, all with complicated relationships. The central theme of the film is trust, and the damage that's done when trust is lost in human relationships. The plot follows the disappearance of the wife of one of the couples. Although the police procedural of the missing woman keeps us grounded, this film is much more about the relationship calculous of long-term relationships. It reminded me a lot of the film Closer. Similarly, it never introduces a new character if an established character would do. For example, one of the husbands, a cop, randomly runs head-first into a man while jogging. This other man later pops up again (for no clear reason) as the boyfriend of another minor character. The central eight characters who make up the four couples run into each other at random, as though they are the only eight people in existence. It's not done lazily or anything, it's just a stylistic choice made to keep us focussed on these particular eight.

Mirroring the central missing-person mystery, the film treats the relationships of the four couples as a mystery as well, slowly revealing key evidence and clues through conversation. The central theme of trust shows up in both the actual mystery and in the relationship "mysteries" which is neat. The central message of the film, that trust is good and the lack of trust is terribly damaging, is unshocking but nicely laid out and framed.

This is an intelligent film about relationships. Unlike more straightforward romances and rom-coms, this is not wish-fulfillment or escapism. I believe these people could exist and I sympathize with them. I feel like I've learned something about relationships myself in some nebulous way. Also there's a gay character which I thought was a nice touch, but alas he doesn't end up very well and isn't a very nice person. The film was made in 2001, so we're not exactly breaking moulds here. Anyway, a sober but ultimately kind-hearted film.