Review of Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010) by Harry W — 05 May 2013

Tomorrow, When the War Began is amazing due to it's ability to stay closely true to it's source novel, it's skilled and talented young Australian cast and its handling of utter intensity and drama and even some moments of good action in there. It's undoubtably one of the greatest films I've ever seen, and is nothing less than inspiring.

The Story is reminiscent of the 1984 Cold War action cult classic Red Dawn, only it focuses more on the depth of the characters and the drama of the events rather than the patriotism that comes with murdering the soviets in cold blood. It's important because it succeeds following the mindset of its main character Ellie Linton due to proper script treatment given to the story and immaculate casting, so all in all it seems that Stuart Beattie's direction seems to have done the trick just right.

And the action sequences are executed very well, rich with explosions and gunfire but not without and amazing level of intensity in it which assists ensuring the audience feels the intense mood that comes with being trapped in a country torn by war, even though its a fictionalised war.

The simple fact is that the perfection in this film inspired me, as it was the first film to introduce me to the genre I dub "Teenagers vs. Terrorists", under the same category as Red Dawn and the single greatest film of all time, Toy Soldiers. It inspired me as an Actor, to see Australian youth in an action thriller making in amazing, as a director to see a big budget Australian picture out there and as an Australian citizen because now I have tactics prepared in case this event ever erupts and I know how to prepare to hide and from whatever may come. But only time will tell if I'm ever forced to face this.

So underneath the amazing epic themes and script is the high point of Tomorrow, When the War Began: the flawless cast.

Caitlin Stacey makes a perfect lead and is the absolute perfect image of Ellie Linton, the character from 10 young Australian Novels and she captures the true character heart and emotional intensity of the character, crating the same independent strength that John Marsden would have had in mind when he created Ellie Linton back in 1993, and to see an actress once a member of the overlong and god-aweful Soap Opera Neighbours creating a massive breakthrough in Australian film is quite a treat, so she's one of the main reasons to watch Tomorrow, When the War Began.

Deniz Akdeniz, a man I once lived next door to, is the funniest part of the film, because consistently he displays hilarious physical humour and comical line delivery and perfectly transitions into the serious mode when the tone of the film changes, and so his characterisation of Homer Yannos is ideal.

Rachel Hurd-Wood also plays a convincing Australian very well and I never would have suspected that she was British the entire time, and she was just charming him in her role and had good chemistry with her best friend.

Ashleigh Cumming was also great in her part because she portrayed Robyn with such elegance in the innocence of her character that her sweetness is reflected only by her beauty and she's perfectly cast.

And so is Phoebe Tonkin who captures the stereotypical young Australian girl character well with comic charm and a smile to match it, and so she's a good presence amongst the characters.

Lincoln Lewis provides the beefcake role of the film and doesn't get much of a character that sticks out, but he performs nonetheless, as does Chris Pang on their respective roles.

And within his brief time on screen, Andy Ryan relieves the characters with some largely entertaining laughs for a brief period that would be all to memorable for the audience afterwords.

So Tomorrow, When the War Began is a fine film with a breakthrough cast to support its source novel and much inspiration for the viewers, and it's definitely my favourite Australian film of all time.