THE MOVIE

A mere year shy of its 10- year anniversary, Richard Franklin's film Brilliant Lies puts sexual harassment in the workplace under the microscope. Based on the play by David Williamson, one of Australia's leading playwrights, the film version has his trademark rich, complex characters and biting social satire.

Ostentatious office worker Susy (Gia Carides) is fired from an office job, and decides to take her employer to court over wrongful dismissal and sexual harassment. She claims her boss, Gary Fitzgerald (a younger and thinner Lapaglia), made persistent passes against her that culminated in a completely inappropriate request, with the sacking following closely behind.

There are few likable characters in this film. Susy, and her whole family for that matter, have their own agendas, and all but one are for family harmony. Her sister Katy (real life sister Zoe Carides) is a lesbian graphic artist, working hard to escape the shadow of an unfair upbringing at the hands of a drunken father (Barrett). Although her actions are probably far from ideal workplace behaviour, we're told early on that Susy's motives may be less than honourable.

Her brother Paul (Veitch) is the only sibling trying to work towards a family he can be proud of, and his piety will get on your nerves after a while. On the other side of the coin, Gary is painted as a chauvinist and does little (if anything) to refute it, playing into the stereotype of the arrogant, salacious boss. Peter Fitzpatrick and Franklin have crafted a story where all the characters are a little dishonest in some way, whether their motives are benign or malignant. While they may not all be likable, they are well drawn and the parts well acted, doing justice to the spirit of Williamson's work.

The scope of the film is intimate, and its theatrical roots can easily be seen. The issue of relationships in the workplace is always a dicey topic, and despite a recession of sorts from the media, gender relations is timeless. There is no accident this has been studied as a text in high school in years past.

It's without doubt a cleverly weaved tale that will at least have audiences debating the relative merit of each character's case.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

The video presentation has aged fairly well over the last 9 years. DVD audiences will get an anamorphically enhanced transfer, with the aspect ratio of 1.78:1.

The source material is pretty good, with blobs and specks on the print being the exception, not the rule. The colours do suffer a bit, and are a bit lifeless. Skin tones are unremarkable.

Overall the picture doesn't have any real pizzazz; it doesn't leap off the screen. Nonetheless, it's a clean transfer that brings this classic Aussie film to the small screen in style.

Audio:

This disc has been given a Dolby stereo audio mix being, to the best of my knowledge, the original mix. It certainly fits in the context of the DVD.

Largely dialogue based, the sound mix covers its bases. The dialogue is audible at all times. It's actually quite narrow across the front speakers, and obviously doesn't venture out elsewhere.

The score by Nerida Tyson-Chew (Visitors, Hotel Sorrento) is minimalist, but takes this out of the realm of play-like production. It hasn't got the lavish appointments of today's soundtracks, but it's basically beyond reproach

THE EXTRAS

As was the case with Hotel Sorrento, this disc has another interesting audio commentary by Writer/Director Richard Franklin. He's a filmmaker who appreciates the technical aspects of the process, and doesn't mind granting the audience access.

There are interviews with principal cast and crew, which are definitely worth a look. They are done in the sort of tasty, bite-sized blocks that were en vogue at the time. Once again Roadshow has included the AFTRS short film to augment the feature. Redreaming the Dark is the story of an Aboriginal family's struggle with an autistic child. Although it doesn't have much in common with the feature, it's a handy local extra feature.

Shooting Brilliant Lies has about four minutes of raw behind the scenes footage. Not exactly in danger of knocking the Lord of the Rings docos off top spot just yet. Kate Cebrano probably wouldn't want to show her music clip Brilliant Lies to the X-factor judges. It aches so badly for the mid 90's Australian music scene, something thankfully that's been long buried. Not much to say about the theatrical trailer, other than it's also on the disc.

For all the foibles - and time does have a way of turning fashion into forgettable - the extras package gets an 'A' for effort.

SUMMARY

Brilliant Lies is an exploration of the nature of truth and its place in business and family life. The characters play off each other powerfully in a richly penned, socially relevant setting.

The DVD shows up the quality of the source material, which is mostly good, if not spectacular. For those wanting to see a decent Aussie film bordering on classic, this has a tick in every box. At a very reasonable budget price point, it's a hard one to look past.