''Dirt Music'' is a 2019

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by

Gregor Jordan Gregor Jordan (born 1966) is an Australian film director. Jordan's films include ''Two Hands (1999 film), Two Hands'' (1999), ''Buffalo Soldiers (2001 film), Buffalo Soldiers'' (2001), and ''Ned Kelly (2003 film), Ned Kelly'' (2003). ''Two Hand ...

, based on the 2001 novel of the same name by

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...

. It stars

Garrett Hedlund Garrett John Hedlund (born September 3, 1984) is an American actor. His films include ''Troy'' (2004), '' Friday Night Lights'' (2004), '' Four Brothers'' (2005), ''Eragon'' (2006), ''Death Sentence'' (2007), '' Tron: Legacy'' (2010), ''Country ...

Kelly Macdonald Kelly Macdonald (born 23 February 1976) is a Scottish actress. She is known for her roles in ''Trainspotting'' (1996), ''Gosford Park'' (2001), ''Intermission'' (2003), ''Nanny McPhee'' (2005), ''No Country for Old Men'' (2007), ''Boardwalk Em ...

, and

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in ''Van Helsing'', Dilios in ''300'' and ...

. The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on 11 September 2019. It was released in Australia on 8 October 2020 by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Premise

A poacher is chased through the Australian outback after his affair with a woman is discovered.

Cast

as Luther Fox *

as Georgie Jutland *

as Jim Buckridge * Julia Stone as Sal * Ava Caryofyllis as Bird *

Aaron Pedersen Aaron Pedersen is an Aboriginal Australian television and film actor. He is known for many film and television roles, in particular as Detective Jay Swan in the film '' Mystery Road'', its sequel '' Goldstone'', and spin-off television series. ...

as Beaver *

Chris Haywood Chris Haywood (born ) is an English-born Australian actor, writer and producer, with close to 500 screen performances to his name. Haywood has also worked as a casting director, art director, sound recordist, camera operator, gaffer, grip, l ...

as Warwick *

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

as Darkie *

Daniel Wyllie Daniel Wyllie (born 1970) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. Wyllie began acting in theatre. Early life Wyllie grew up on Sydney's North Shore. He attended North Sydney Boys High School and the University of New South Wales, whe ...

as Rusty

Production

It was announced in August 2018 that

and

were cast to star in the adaptation of

's novel. In October, the supporting cast, including

, was added, with filming beginning in

Kimberley, Western Australia The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, an ...

, and would also film in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and Esperance.'Dirt Music' Under Way; David Wenham, Cornerstone, Focus Join Kelly Macdonald-Garrett Hedlund Pic
/ref>

Reception

''Dirt Music'' received generally negative reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "As beautifully filmed as it is emotionally hollow, ''Dirt Music'' goes digging for romance but only buries the audience in mounds of melodrama." Film reviewer, Luke Buckmaster, referred to it as an "only intermittently engaging film".

References

External links

* {{Jack Thorne 2019 films 2019 romantic drama films Australian romantic drama films British romantic drama films Films based on Australian novels Films directed by Gregor Jordan Films set in Western Australia Films shot in Perth, Western Australia Films with screenplays by Jack Thorne Screen Australia films Universal Pictures films 2010s British films