![]() ![]() Although Charlie has never spoken to Jasper before, he follows him to a watering hole where the corpse of Jasper’s white girlfriend, 16-year-old Laura Wishart (Nandalie Campbell Killick), swings from a nearby eucalyptus tree. The richly layered screenplay by Silvey and Shaun Grant (“The Snowtown Murders”) opens with teenage Charlie Bucktin (Miller) receiving a late-night plea for help from the title character (McGrath), an Anglo-Aboriginal teenager branded as chief trouble-maker in the fictional Western Australian town of Corrington. Published in 2009 and since adapted for several highly acclaimed stage productions, Silvey’s source material is regarded as something of a Down Under “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Tackling themes of prejudice, class, justice and death through the inquiring eyes of a teenager who dreams of being a writer, “Jasper” also invokes the spirit of films such as “Stand by Me,” in which youngsters take very adult matters into their own hands. Offshore theatrical exposure is not out of the question. Everything points to a successful local release on March 2. ![]() Boasting excellent performances by young actors Aaron McGrath, Levi Miller (“Pan”) and Angourie Rice (“The Nice Guys”), and with Toni Collette in top form as the protagonist’s frustrated mother, this is the best film yet by director Rachel Perkins (“Bran Nue Dae”). The loss of childhood innocence and the suffocating despair of adulthood come together in “Jasper Jones,” a beautifully composed portrait of life in late-’60s small-town Australia. 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. ![]()
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