There is something deeply satisfying about watching a classic cinematic trope done well. The film version of Jasper Jones, the best-selling Australian novel of the same name by Craig Silvey, is a uniquely Australian take on the coming of age film, done very well.
In publicity material, director Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae, 2009; Radiance, 1998) name-checks Rob Reiner's Stand By Me (1986) - the story of four boys in a small Oregon town who set out to find the body of a missing child - as a central inspiration. Other examples come to mind, including Robert Mulligan's To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and, closer to home, The Year My Voice Broke (1987), both of which portray the messy collision of childhood idealism with the mysterious, cynical world of adulthood.
Unsurprisingly, given that Silvey co-wrote the script, the film adheres closely to its source material. In the fictitious rural Western Australian town of Corrigan, on the cusp of the 1970s, thirteen-year-old Charlie Bucktin (Levi Miller) is roused from bed one night by a local mixed-race boy, Jasper Jones (Aaron McGrath), who asks for his help. Jasper leads Charlie into the nearby forest, to a billabong next to a large tree. From one of the thick branches dangles the body of sixteen-year-old Laura Wishart, Jasper's secret lover and the daughter of the local shire president.
Jasper maintains his innocence but knows the town's police will blame him regardless because of his mixed racial background and his reputation as a troublemaker. He claims to know the identity of the murderer, a local recluse, 'Mad' Jack Lionel (Hugo Weaving), rumoured to have killed a woman many years ago, whose dilapidated wooden house on the edge of town functions as one of the story's key points of narrative suspense.
Source: https://www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-arts/arts/3820-jasper-jones
Centered on a 14-year-old boy caught up in a murder mystery involving a part-Aboriginal suspect, this outstanding adaptation of Craig Silvey's novel will appeal strongly to teenage and adult audiences.
It's compelling as a whodunnit, touching as a coming-of-age story, insightful as a picture of race relations and crafty as a drama about secrets, concealing a few of its own for a final, satisfying reveal.
Perkins, finding the sweet spot between childish goofiness and adult drama, keeps things fleet, funny, and just the right side of suspenseful; tonally, the film is a match for any Spielbergian 80s coming-of-age classic.
What's missing in this coming-of-age drama is making its main story more compelling.
Devotees of the novel will find this a faithful rendering.
Screenwriter Shaun Grant keeps many of the novel's weighty themes, but delivers them with such verve and taut-storytelling that watching it all unfold is a joy.
The performances and script allow Jasper Jones to bound along with enough momentum that we all enjoy this well-made story about discovery, injustice and courage.
It's a classic tale well told.
There's always room for a smart, thoughtful and engaging take on a well-worn premise, and Bran Nue Dae director Rachel Perkins delivers just that.
Well scripted, shot, and acted, there's very little not to recommend it: it streamlines a story without sacrificing complexity, and it is both entertaining and thoughtful while it's at it. It's enough to give you faith in the industry.
There's a heart to this film that resonates strongly. 14-year-old Levi Miller is terrific as the shy, awkward Charlie who is trying to come to grips with his quickly changing world.
The movie is not nimble enough to skip between its multiple ideas. It also doesn't do great justice to the enigmatic figure of the titular character.