I will start off by saying that my expectations for Broken Hill, directed by Dagen Merrill, were far less than average. The trailer was muddled and confusing. The synopsis seemed disjointed and random, and I can honestly say that I had no idea what the movie was about before walking into the auditorium. In most cases, I like this. Not knowing what the movie is about makes me feel like anything can happen, that twists and turns can occur, and I will be surprised. However, in this case, any information I could have gathered would have been helpful.
The film takes place in the vast, dry deserts of the Australian outback, in a town called Broken Hill, where even drifters and nomads looking for a new home would run from.
The teenaged main character, Tommy, played by Luke Arnold, is an aspiring classical music composer who longs to attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. During his spare time, he helps his father in the fields of their sheep farm but dreams of having his own orchestra to conduct and inspire. His trusty sidekick is named Scott Price, performed by Rhys Wakefield. Scott plays the spunky, witty teen who usually means well, but most of the time just gets on everyone’s nerves. Scott often laughs at Tommy’s awkward mannerisms, and most of all, his secret love for the American in his school. Alexa Vega plays the American, Kat Rogers, who brings to Australia every American teenage stereotype in the book. With her blonde hair, vocabulary that mainly consists of “whatever,” and a ditzy façade, she may as well be Paris Hilton’s distant cousin.
Eventually, Kat and Tommy, the two polar opposites, wind up in a prison cell. I won’t reveal how it happened, but I can say it involved a truck, a few dozen watermelons, and a ton of teen rebellion.
To pay society back for their wrong doings, Tommy and Kat end up serving their community service hours at the county jail, teaching the prisoners how to play instruments. If this movie somehow still appeals to you against all of my advice, at least believe me when I say that your expectations should not be over the roof. Go in, sit back, and take it for what it is: a typical, formulaic Hollywood film.
At best, it’s a movie one might see on 75 cent Tuesdays at the dollar theater. Even then, studying for my calc test might be more enjoyable.