Tomorrow When The War Began

To say that a film adaptation of Australian author John Marsden’s Tomorrow series has been eagerly anticipated since the literary debut of the first novel in 1993 is akin to observing that patrons might part with their hard earned cash to see the next vampire themed offering – it is beyond the realms of conjecture, and cemented as a fact. As a child of the 1980s and a teen of the 1990s that grew up reading Marsden’s work, I was fortunate to find myself situated within the target audience for the books as they were published. Somehow, despite the passage of years, I can still remember the first thought that passed through my ten year old brain as I finished reading Tomorrow When The War Began for the first (but by no means the last) time – “they should make this into a movie”.

And so it is that close to two decades later a big screen version of the initial installment of the popular fiction novels makes its way into cinemas across Australia (with more certain to be on their way), much to the delight of current teens, those just past their teenage years, and more still now a little bit older than they’d like to admit. Can it meet the tide of expectations that has been mounting with eager readers for the better part of a generation – particularly with a cast of unknowns with little more than soap operas and children’s programming on their acting resumes? Or will it fall victim to the age-old trap that awaits many page-to-screen adaptations, and disappoint purely out of the necessity to condense the action within the context of a feature film? All is revealed below.

Although it starts in a familiar manner, Tomorrow When The War Began is far from your average teen feature. Instead, it pits teenagers against unnamed invaders, as it explores the hypothetical situation of our nation at war and under siege. When tomboy Ellie (Caitlin Stasey, Neighbours) and her motley crew of friends set off on a brief holiday from their rural community, their minds are filled with the usual thoughts of youth (with sex and romance the highest ranked topics). Returning home to find their houses abandoned and families under armed guard as soldiers scour the streets and fighter planes fly overhead, their concerns shift from everyday trivialities to matters of life and death as they are forced to fight guerrilla-style to save their town and secure their own survival.

Part coming-of-age drama and part war saga, Stuart Beattie’s first stint at directing (after scripting Collateral, Derailed, 30 Days of Night and Australia) is a mixed bag of both pleasing and trying elements. As an enjoyable offering of action-based hijinks, after a slow start it elicits immediate interest as it ramps up into war mode. From comic cliff climbing to creative use of cattle, and including a troika of terse chases involving helicopters, garbage trucks and petrol tankers, the feature sustains suspense during genuinely tense stunt scenes. Although most of the action strains the boundaries of logic, the film’s fast-paced nature coupled with its largely faithful plot ensures that minor holes are overlooked as exhilarating explosions and fiery fights take centre stage.

However, whilst the action-oriented aspects of the feature are entertaining, the character dynamics are less successful, with the film straying too far into cliché  to convey any real sense of emotion. Populated by the usual teen stereotypes – including the boy-crazy best friend (Rachel Hurd-Wood, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer), jerkish jock (Lincoln Lewis, Home And Away), rough rebel (Deniz Akdeniz, As the Bell Rings), posh princess (Phoebe Tonkin, H2O: Just Add Water), religious rule-follower (Ashleigh Cummings, a fellow Home And Away alum), over-achieving outcast (Chris Pang, in his first film role) and simple-minded stoner (Andrew Ryan, The Jesters) – the feature’s categorical approach to characterisation is woefully ineffective, with the resonance of the events impeded by the prominence of formula over authenticity.

In the same way that avid J.R.R. Tolkien fans share a sense of collective disappointment at the prospect of future generations remembering Lord Of The Rings as a movies first and novels second, Tomorrow When The War Began incites the same sorrow due to its uneven interpretation of Marsden’s classic prose. At its best when it lets the action takeover, but let down by two-dimensional characters played with more than a little overacting, inappropriate and overly literal use of music, overt political subtext, and an unnecessary updating to the present (with mobile phone and broadband use unheard of in the original text), it is undoubtedly an important Australian release; that it can’t match seventeen years of anticipation in an uninspiring yet agreeable effort is not at all surprising.

At the time of writing, Tomorrow When The War Began had reached first position at the Australian box office a mere day after hitting cinema screens, earning third spot behind Happy Feet and Australia in terms of highest opening figures ever for a local release.

Tomorrow When The War Began opened in cinemas on September 2nd, 2010.

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Tags: Australian film, drama, films, movies, Tomorrow When The War Began, TWTWB