Geena Davis gives close to a career best performance as the honest, human and sarcastic mother in this Australian film that stars mostly Americans. It’s a curious ploy to broaden the prospective audience and I hope it works for this quality picture, obviously art-house through its avoidance of a soppy ending and unrealistic moments.

Instead this film focuses on the quiet ways people are damaged by and subsequently deal with traumatic events. In an admirable effort to remain always realistic, the exceptionally well-drawn characters are warm but full of faults, as opposed to the highly stylised and moralistically superior things we usually see on movie screens.

There is also refreshingly little underlying karma or sense of meaning — again just like real life. Oh, and the soundtrack is a cracker, featuring contributions from indie songsters Luke Steele, The Middle East and Empire of the Sun.

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Driving to Warwick, in upstate New York, yesterday, through the winding wooded sections of untouched greenery, far removed from the incessant rattle and thump of the Manhattan streetscape, this beautifully hypnotic track by Australian duo, Empire Of The Sun, came bursting through the car speakers at the perfect moment. The faintest slither of mid-morning sunshine was weaving its way through the thick foliage, the speakers were vibrating with an unhurried bias, and everything in the world just seemed right. Damn music. It can shape a mood quicker than a shot of 80 percent proof. Read Empire Of The Sun’s Secret Playlist.

Australian duo, Empire Of The Sun, feature Luke Steel from The Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore from Pnau, each stepping our their respective shadows to create a sound and look that is totally electric. Luke Steel will be compiling a special Secret Playlist for us next week.