ends with Sonja and Leon dancing seductively. Leon, who found dancing with his wife difficult, now looks into Sonja's eyes and dances, just as she wanted. Sonja struggles to initially return Leon's gaze but does as the movie ends. Cast Anthony LaPaglia as Detective Leon Zat Geoffrey Rush as John Knox Barbara Hershey as Valerie Somers Kerry Armstrong as Sonja Zat Rachael Blake as Jane O'May Vince Colosimo as Nik D'Amato Russell Dykstra as Neil Toohey Daniella Farinacci as Paula D'Amato Peter Phelps as Patrick Phelan Leah Purcell as Claudia Weis Glenn Robbins as Pete O'May Reception Box office Lantana opened on 15 screens in Australia in October 2001. It grossed A$604,004 in its first full week, ranking number 9 for the week. It expanded to 40 screens on 18 October. It opened on 14 December 2001 in North America in 6 theaters. In the US, it grossed $66,701 with an average of $11,116 per theater and ranking number 39 at the box office. Its widest release was 108 theaters and it ended up earning $4,623,189. The film earned $11,124,261 internationally (including $6,125,907 in Australia) for a total of $15,747,450. Critical response Lantana received positive reviews from critics and has a 'certified fresh' score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 106 reviews with an average rating of 7.38/10. The critical consensus states "Lantana is an intricately plotted character study that quietly shines with authenticity." The film also has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 29 critics indicating "universal acclaim". Writer and critic Roger Ebert compared the film to Short Cuts and Magnolia in terms of how it developed the connections between the lives of strangers. It premiered in the UK on Channel 4 in December 2006. British critic Philip French described the film as a "thoughtful, gripping movie" based around the themes of "trust in its various forms, betrayal, forgiveness and grief". Accolades See also Cinema of Australia References External links Lantana at the National Film and Sound Archive Lantana at Ozmovies ARIA Award-winning albums 2001 films Australian drama films Australian films based on plays Films based on works by Australian writers Films directed by Ray Lawrence Films shot in Sydney Films set in Sydney Films scored by Paul Kelly (Australian musician) Lionsgate films Adultery in films Films about grieving Hyperlink films 2001 drama films 2000s English-language films