Palm Beach explores the importance of family and friends, set against the extravagant and incredibly aesthetic backdrop of Palm Beach, Sydney. The film was created by an absolute super team of predominantly Australian talent from the director and writer Rachel Ward to co-writer Joanna Murray-Smith and of course, the film’s many stars. Starring Australian film veteran and Ward’s husband Bryan Brown as well as their daughter Matilda Brown, Jacqueline McKenzie and Heather Mitchell, alongside international actors Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi and Richard E. Grant.
Palm Beach follows the story of a group of old friends who are gathering to celebrate the birthday of Frank (Bryan Brown). Frank and his family host the group in their luxurious 5+ bedroom house in, you guessed it, Palm Beach. We find out early on that the men once formed a band in the 1970s who had mild success with a one-hit-wonder before their lead singer passed away leaving behind a daughter (who is also present at the party) and causing the men to follow individual careers and embark on starkly different lives. Frank is married to Charlotte with a daughter, a son and a healthy sum of money (something not overlooked by some of the others), Sam Neill’s character Leo married a single mother, Bridget, and became a step-father to their daughter, and Richard E. Grant’s Billy makes a career as a musician-turned-jingle writer who chooses not to have children with his gorgeous movie star wife Eva. When this mismatched group of friends, wives and children get together after years apart, old secrets and new truths create tension that threatens to tear apart the families and friends forever.
Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Sydney’s coast, the majority of the film takes place around Frank’s incredible house with many shots framed to have the gorgeous beach in the background. There are scenes of the men running or swimming at the beach and the climatic birthday dinner occurs at an ocean-side restaurant, that needs a seaplane to get to and comes complete with fireworks. In hindsight, the film does feel like one big advertisement for Australian coastal living, but I did enjoy watching it and soaking in the gorgeous views, so I guess it works.
The actors all seemed to have genuine chemistry together and there were occasional scenes where I consciously questioned whether it was actually scripted or whether the actors were just ad-libbing, enjoying expensive seafood meals and reminiscing about the ‘70s. It’s this chemistry that gives the family dramas and tensions a genuine feel and gives this big tourism ad some heart. Between step-families, divorces and strained parent-child relationships, Palm Beach is trying its best to start a conversation about what makes family and whether biological factors are as important as who loves you (friends included). It does, however, follow a predictable trajectory: everyone is chummy and happy at the beginning but the more wine they drink and the more time they spend together the sourer things turn. There’s the typical emotional boil-over and then the big finale that forces everyone to put aside their differences and come back together. It’s all a bit cheesy and wraps up far too easily with the nice fairy-tale ending and bow on top, but that’s what makes it such an enjoyable and comforting film.
For a movie that seems to be one big glorified advertisement of Sydney’s coast, Palm Beach was a softer, more emotional and overall more uplifting film than I was expecting. It’s predictable and cheesy but in a really enjoyable way. If you’re a fan of Australian cinema, have a dysfunctional family or just want to see how the people of Palm Beach live, there’s something in this film for you.
Score: 4/5