I have been trying to get my hands on this play for ages, probably because it is one of those rather famous Australian plays. In fact, The Club, and Don's Party, both by the same author, are pretty much the quintissential Australian plays, not that I actually read any of them back when I was in High School (though I suspect that it has a lot to do with which High School you went to, and who your English Teacher happened to be).
The story is set on election night in 1969 where everybody was expecting Labor to win, which would have been the first time that they were in government since World War II. However, while at the start it seems that Labor is ahead, it becomes clear by the end of the night that they have fallen short. The scene takes place at Don's house, where they have a few friends over to celebrate, though when it turns out that Labor isn't going to win, it pretty much turns into a drunken free for all.
The film, along with the play, is really about lost aspirations, something that seemed to be common in a lot of the plays, and literature, at the time. The characters are all baby boomers (I believe), and at numerous times they reflect on where they have come from, and the dreams that they had when they were young. However, not all of them seem to have come to pass. For instance, the marriages, while they haven't failed, don't seem to be all that fulfilling. In fact, most of the male characters seem to be trying to bed women who don't happen to be their wives. The women are pretty much the same, and the fact that some of the married women are happy to be chatted up indicate this.
I guess the play explores a couple of concepts, and that is the hope that politics bring, and the failure of youthful dreams. All of the characters are now middle age, and they seem to be pretty much stuck in their jobs, and stuck in their marriages. Mind you, when we look at this from 2021, a part of us almost feel that despite all of this they still had it pretty good. For instance, while it was never actually stated, they all seem to have decent, well paying jobs, and it also seems that Don owns his home, despite the fact that he is a school teacher (something that just does not seem to be possible these days).
In a way the election is just in the background, but the outcome of the election does seem to suggest the lost hope and dreams that the post war society has brought about. Well, okay, the Vietnam war is still raging, and there does not seem to be any indication of withdrawl, and the fact that the characters' hopes were dashed that evening when the libs won a 9th consecutive term, so it is also the case that they are looking at how the hopes and dreams from 10 years earlier had also been dashed.
It was also interesting to see Graham Kennedy starring in a film role, but for those of us who remember the eighties, he was certainly a huge star, and the role he plays here is pretty typical of the roles he plays.
Personally, I can't say that this film was particularly great, and a part of me still wants to read the play, namely because film adaptations rarely do much justice. It was interesting though seeing the actual election, and the fact that only one sheet of paper was filled out, as opposed to the two sheets that we fill out these days. I later discovered that this was because the senate elections and the house elections weren't held at the same time, at least it wasn't back then.
The story is set on election night in 1969 where everybody was expecting Labor to win, which would have been the first time that they were in government since World War II. However, while at the start it seems that Labor is ahead, it becomes clear by the end of the night that they have fallen short. The scene takes place at Don's house, where they have a few friends over to celebrate, though when it turns out that Labor isn't going to win, it pretty much turns into a drunken free for all.
The film, along with the play, is really about lost aspirations, something that seemed to be common in a lot of the plays, and literature, at the time. The characters are all baby boomers (I believe), and at numerous times they reflect on where they have come from, and the dreams that they had when they were young. However, not all of them seem to have come to pass. For instance, the marriages, while they haven't failed, don't seem to be all that fulfilling. In fact, most of the male characters seem to be trying to bed women who don't happen to be their wives. The women are pretty much the same, and the fact that some of the married women are happy to be chatted up indicate this.
I guess the play explores a couple of concepts, and that is the hope that politics bring, and the failure of youthful dreams. All of the characters are now middle age, and they seem to be pretty much stuck in their jobs, and stuck in their marriages. Mind you, when we look at this from 2021, a part of us almost feel that despite all of this they still had it pretty good. For instance, while it was never actually stated, they all seem to have decent, well paying jobs, and it also seems that Don owns his home, despite the fact that he is a school teacher (something that just does not seem to be possible these days).
In a way the election is just in the background, but the outcome of the election does seem to suggest the lost hope and dreams that the post war society has brought about. Well, okay, the Vietnam war is still raging, and there does not seem to be any indication of withdrawl, and the fact that the characters' hopes were dashed that evening when the libs won a 9th consecutive term, so it is also the case that they are looking at how the hopes and dreams from 10 years earlier had also been dashed.
It was also interesting to see Graham Kennedy starring in a film role, but for those of us who remember the eighties, he was certainly a huge star, and the role he plays here is pretty typical of the roles he plays.
Personally, I can't say that this film was particularly great, and a part of me still wants to read the play, namely because film adaptations rarely do much justice. It was interesting though seeing the actual election, and the fact that only one sheet of paper was filled out, as opposed to the two sheets that we fill out these days. I later discovered that this was because the senate elections and the house elections weren't held at the same time, at least it wasn't back then.