''Never Too Late'' is a 2020 Australian

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Mark Lamprell and starring

James Cromwell James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include ''Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), ''The Queen'' ...

and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

. The film also features

Dennis Waterman Dennis Waterman (24 February 1948 – 8 May 2022) was an English actor and singer. He was best known for his tough-guy leading roles in television series including ''The Sweeney'', ''Minder'' and ''New Tricks'', singing the theme tunes of the ...

Roy Billing Roy Harwood Billing (born 1947) is a New Zealand television actor, now based on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. He was brought up in Ruawai, Northland, New Zealand. Billing spent almost three decades living and working in Australia. He became wid ...

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports *Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City *Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Bright ...

and

Shane Jacobson Shane Jacobson (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian actor, director, writer, and comedian, best known as the "Dunny Man" for his performances as the eponymous character Kenny Smyth, a plumber working for a portable toilet rental company, in the ...

Plot

Four former

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, members of an elite squad "the Chainbreakers", who broke out of their prison in Vietnam, are now residents of "Hogan Hills", a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple i ...

for returned veterans. Each has some unfinished business "outside", but they are not allowed to leave as they are under the Mental Health Act. Bronson, an American, was their leader and has feigned symptoms to be near Norma, once an Army nurse with whom he fell in love, but is now a widow suffering

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. His leadership is blamed by the others for their incarceration in Vietnam. Caine would love to go sailing on his yacht but is restrained for his own safety. Wendell is a wheelchair-bound former bikie and bank robber: he still wears gloves,

flannelette Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, b ...

shirt and badged vest. Between jail and the "home", he has not been "outside" since 1975. Alienated from his son Bruce, his letters are always returned unopened. He regrets never taking Bruce to a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

game. Angus is an ex-VFL footballer for Collingwood, "the mighty Magpies", and winner of the 1973

Brownlow medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

but was disqualified for punching an opponent, so never received it. They enlist the aid of Elliot, a young orderly who is son of Lin the Vietnam-born matron in charge. Unknown to the four, she is the daughter of a prison guard who refrained from shooting the escapees and was executed for his failure. After several foiled attempts, they escape in a hearse, pick up Bruce and while Wendell and his son are watching the game at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

(

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) sinc ...

Port Power Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

); Angus steals the medal from its display case. They escape in the

Glenelg tram The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

, and manage to persuade the police that they are innocent tourists. Bronson meets Norma on the jetty; she accepts his proposal. They proceed to the marina where Caine's yacht is moored; he sails off for the horizon. In the final scene Bronson tells Lin about her father and offers his thanks, Norma returns to the retirement home but fails to recognise Bronson, Angus is still wearing his medal and Bruce has become his father's carer.

Cast

as Jack Bronson *

as Jeremiah Caine *

as James Wendell *

as Bruce Wendell *

as Angus Wilson *

as Norma McCarthy *

Renee Lim Renee Li-Yen Lim (born ) is an Australian actress, television presenter and medical doctor. She is best known for her roles as Constable Jung Lim in ''East West 101'', Mae in ''Please Like Me'' and her recurring role as Vivienne Hart in '' Th ...

as Lin (matron in charge) *

Zachary Wan Zachary is a male given name, a variant of Zechariah – the name of several Biblical characters. People *Pope Zachary (679–752), Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752 * Zachary of Vienne (died 106), bishop of Vienne (France), martyr an ...

as Elliot (her son, an orderly) *

Edmund Pegge Edmund Pegge (born 1 April 1939) is an Australian actor, who has worked in both Australia and the United Kingdom. Arriving in Adelaide as a teenager, Pegge completed his education at St Peter's College before graduating from the National Inst ...

as HowardMaddox, Garry (16 April 2019
Life still busy over 70 for stars of new 'triumph over ageing' comedy
''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. Retrieved 17 February 2020.

Production

''Never Too Late'' was directed by Mark Lamprell, written by Grant Carter and Luke Preston, produced by

Antony I. Ginnane Antony I. Ginnane is an Australian film producer best known for his work in the exploitation field. He was head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia from 2008 to 2011. A CD of themes from fourteen of his films was produced in 2008 b ...

and

David Lightfoot David Lightfoot (1959/1960 – 13 June 2021) was an Australian film producer. Biography Lightfoot worked on the horror films '' Wolf Creek'' and '' Rogue''. Other credits include ''Bad Boy Bubby'', '' Three Forever'', '' The Sound of One Hand ...

, with executive producers

Jack Christian Jack Christian is a film and television showrunner, producer, writer and director. He is known most recently for his work on the feature films ''What Remains of Us'', ''Mercy Road'', '' The Infernal Machine'', ''Run Rabbit Run'', '' Nandor Fodo ...

and Kirk D'Amico.Screen Guide: Never Too Late

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

. Accessed 17 February 2020. The film was shot in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

throughout March and April 2019. Some of the scenes were shot at the

where dozens of extras were needed to appear in the movie as supporters of local

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

teams

and .

Soundtrack

The film features original music by Angela Little, also songs from the 1960s and 1979s performed by

Lior Lior Attar, better known simply as Lior, is an independent Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. He is best known for his 2005 debut studio album ''Autumn Flow'' and for the song "Hoot's Lullaby". Early life and education Lior was bo ...

: ''

House of the Rising Sun A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

'' (Traditional), ''

Catch the Wind "Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. Pye Records released "Catch the Wind" backed with "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" as Donovan's debut release (Pye 7N.15801) in the United Kingdom on 28 ...

'' (Donovan), ''

Mad World "Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Bo ...

'' (Orzabal), and ''

I Can See Clearly Now "I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his album I Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash album), ''I Can See Clearly Now'' and achieved success in the United States and the U ...

'' (Johnny Nash). These are not included on the soundtrack album.

Release

The film premiered at Adelaide's Young at Heart Festival on 19 February 2020. It was scheduled to be released digitally in the United States on 10 July 2020. It was distributed by R&R Films.

Critical reception

''Never Too Late'' received mixed reviews, earning an approval rating of 46% 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 ...

, based on 24 reviews. *"With this line-up, Lamprell should have turned the film into a celebration of some great screen careers. Instead, it winds up as a sad waste of talent." *Standard and sentimental. You can see where it's going, but it's fun and benign anyway to see how they work this out.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * 2020 films 2020 comedy-drama films 2020s English-language films Australian comedy-drama films Films shot in Adelaide Films set in South Australia Films directed by Mark Lamprell Screen Australia films 2020s Australian films {{2020s-Australia-film-stub