Australian director Robert Connolly’s latest feature is Blueback, an adaptation of the best-selling 1997 novel of the same name by Tim Winton. Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, the film tells the story of a young girl who befriends a wrasse while diving in the sea and becomes an impassioned protector of the oceans.

Lavishly shot on location and making hefty use of flashbacks from Abby’s youth and adolescence, initial reviews have been positive, with Connolly’s stylish directing and the accomplished cinematography, as well as individual performances being singled out for praise. Here’s the lowdown on what to expect.

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Blueback: The Plot

Connolly’s previous films include some of the most politically charged works to emerge from Australian cinema in recent years. The Bank (2001) offered trenchant commentary on the morality of the stock markets, and Balibo (2009) caused a considerable stir with its recounting the story of the Balibo Five, a group of Australian journalists who were killed (intentionally, in Connolly’s retelling) in 1975 during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. Connolly also worked in a producer role on Gallipoli, a 2015 TV miniseries that told the story of the disastrous campaign waged, with horrendous loss of life, by Australian and New Zealand soldiers at Gallipoli in Turkey during the First World War. The director is also no stranger to adapting Tim Winton’s works, having already produced the big screen version of Winton’s 2005 short story collection The Turning.

Blueback requires and gets a lighter touch than any of the above. Connolly’s exploration of the mother-daughter dynamic and the urgent need for conservationism to take center stage in a world increasingly ravaged by the climate emergency is never less than solemn in its treatment. Abby is a marine biologist who returns to her childhood home after receiving the news that her mother, Dora, is seriously ill. Their meeting sets the stage for a recounting of an incident many years previously, in which mother and daughter fought to stop developers from building homes on the coast of a nearby bay, thereby putting the abundant marine wildlife in the area at risk. This incident put Abby on the path to her future career.

The juxtaposition between the go-getting Abby, eager to make a contribution yet aware of the weakening link between herself and family, and the ailing Dora puts the film in tearjerker territory, but the restrained storytelling reins in much of the melodrama.

Blueback: The Cast

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The part of Abby is played by Australian actor Mia Wasikowska, who first came to prominence in Hollywood as the lead character in Tim Burton’s realization of Alice in Wonderland (2010), following up with well-received performances in Jane Eyre (2011), The Kids Are All Right (2010), and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), as well as a reprising of her most famous role in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).

In recent years, however, Wasikowska has increasingly turned to indie films, such as the 2018 horror Piercing, Blackbird (2019), and last year’s Bergman Island. Abby’s teenage and child selves, who appear in flashbacks throughout, are played by Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue, the former doing excellent work in her debut film role.

Abby’s mother, Dora, is portrayed by Radha Mitchell, a Neighbours alumna whose resume now extends to American TV such as Longmire, The Romanoffs, and Law and Order: SVU, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as London Has Fallen. However, it is in Australian cinema that Mitchell has done much of her recent work, including performances opposite Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue in the comedy-drama Swinging Safari (2018) and an understated appearance as the titular opera singer grieving for her husband and dreaming of a return to the concert hall in Celeste the same year.

In the supporting role of avuncular fisherman Mad Macka is Eric Bana, who is best known for his genre work in films such as Star Trek (2009), The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009), and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), but who returned to the big screen in 2021 after a three-year hiatus with drama film The Dry and voice work on Netflix’s animated film Back to the Outback. New Zealand actor Erik Thomson takes on the role of the uncaring property developer hellbent on opening up Abby’s bay to tourists.

Release Date

Having been filmed on location in Western Australia, Blueback benefits from delightful visuals and solid production values. It makes use of local actors Clarence Ryan (Mystery Road: Origin) and Eddie Baroo in supporting roles. Blueback had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and premieres in Australia on January 1, 2023. Release dates for the rest of the world have yet to be announced.