have perceived that the Australian backdrop of the Hawkesbury River and the physical labours of its occupants attribute a recognisable sense of Australian life and its dominant ‘mateship culture’ to the film’s thematic scheme. Paul Byrnes of the Sydney Morning Herald addresses the foundations of this perception in noting ‘the film has an almost ethnographic feel, combining the details of the working lives of the characters with a sly sense of comedy’. Richard Kuipers takes a similar approach to the film’s interpretation, prefacing the film as a ‘small, carefully composed film that rejoices in the parochial lingo and mores of its richly textured characters’ Philip Cenere describes the role the setting plays; ‘it sets the mood, frames the town, and defines the characters. Few settings have so clearly shaped a film’. Jami Bernard of the NY Daily News comments on the effectiveness of the chosen location, observing that ‘The realistic scenes of oyster farming and the beauty of the Hawkesbury River lend this movie a degree of fascination that its taciturn, beer-swilling characters can't provide’. The cultural backdrop provided by the location, urban dialect and working lives of the characters establishes a strong sense of Australian familiarity that pervades the film’s aesthetic. Isolation The comedic elements of the film are balanced with the isolation experienced by the protagonist. Byrnes elaborates by affirming ‘Reeves is careful in early scenes not to overplay the comedy’. Jack’s understanding and relation to the community is frequently undermined, as the film ‘shifts in tone and sense of incompleteness can be seen as a function of Jack's imperfect understanding of the community’. This theme is showcased by the protagonist in his efforts to conceal his motives behind starting work with the local oyster business. Regret and crime Crime is interpreted by reviewers as the catalyst for the film’s events. Sharon Hurst summarises the film as capturing ‘vague feelings about the bitter-sweet quality of life – its longings, broken dreams, hopes, past baggage, forgiveness, and coming to terms and just getting on with it’. The identification of the protagonist’s regret and anxiety to cover his actions is also interpreted as another aspect of his characterisation. Family dynamics Budding family dynamics are an additional element of the film’s subplot. Paul Byrnes of the NFSA briefly addresses these relationships in his excerpt ‘Everyone Needs a Drama’, observing that ‘Brownie’s estrangement from his wife Trish is given almost as much