''Under the Lighthouse Dancing'' is a 1997 Australian romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Graeme Rattigan and starring

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 Brig ...

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymble Ladies' College, where she ...

, and

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

. It is based on a true story.

Premise

Three couples travel to

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-class ...

near

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 i ...

, Western Australia for the weekend. One of the couples announces that they intend to get married and when the bride-to-be tells the others that she is terminally ill, they make sure the wedding takes place that weekend.

Cast

as Henry *

as Emma *

as Louise * Philip Holder as Garth *

Zoe Bertram Zoe Bertram is an Australian actress, whose first major role was in the teen-oriented television soap opera '' The Restless Years'' as Olivia Baxter from 1977 to 1981. Career Bertram has guested in numerous television series and appeared in ...

as Juliet *

Aden Gillett John Aden Gillett is a British actor. He is best known for playing the role of Jack Maddox on the BBC series '' The House of Eliott''. Biography and career Gillet was born in the city of Aden, Yemen, from which he got his name. He attended ...

as David * Michael Loney as Father Flynn

Reception

Writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'',

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

praised the acting and production design of the film, but said that it had thin material, and that the ending was "hokey". Australia's SBS gave the film a negative review concluding that the production "obviously wants to have an emotional impact, it just hasn't done it very successfully."

Box office

''Under the Lighthouse Dancing'' grossed $30,321 at the box office in Australia.

References

External links