Dawn (2014) Reviews

• Classy, intriguing, original, sincere and intelligent.

  andrewbunney2015-05-22

  Touch is a highly original psychological thriller. After a traumatic event, a mother, Dawn (Leeanna Walsman – Manny Lewis) is on the run with her daughter, Steph (Onor Nottle). She is pursued by a frantic ex-cop (Matt Day - Rake, Doing Time for Patsy Cline). Quite what is driving Dawn, we are initially unsure but there is a persistent sense of danger. She might be a victim but she behaves unpredictably. This is a finely-crafted, classy production in all respects. The image-making is superb, from haunting vistas of the ancient rolling Adelaide hills of South Australia to claustrophobic scenes in interiors of cars and motel rooms. The lead performances of Walsman and Day are magnificent and they are particularly well supported by young Nottle as the daughter and Greg Hatton as a cop. The soundtrack is varied and includes local songs which lend authenticity and help create unique moods and atmosphere. Touch is often disturbingly dark, powerfully visceral, troubling and raunchy. It is a puzzling mystery with a powerful emotional resolution prompting comparison to the classic Australian psychological thriller, Lantana. In Touch, an intriguing and discomfiting story about parental love is steadily and artfully unfolded with depth, sincerity and intelligence. The rendering of the emotional landscape has the ring of truth. 4 stars

• Psychological drama with a surprise twist.

  thetack-321132017-11-13

  This is one of those films, like the "Sixth Sense", that is, perhaps, better the second time around. The film starts with the title character assaulting an elderly man, whom you assume has harmed her in the past. In reality, he is, in fact, an innocent victim of a mother's insanity, brought on by immense guilt and grief. Dawn has, in fact, just stolen her dead daughter's body from the elderly undertaker, and assaulted him in her misplaced anger at her daughter's death. She, then, sets off on a odyssey through the Australian countryside, trying to keep herself and her daughter from being separated. In the meantime, she meets a policeman with whom she engages in degrading, meaningless sex, almost resulting in rape. Another man, a former police officer, is hot on her trail and has convinced the undertaker not to press charges for assault. Not until almost the end of the film do we find out why the undertaker agrees: The former police officer is her husband. The girl we see throughout the film talking to and consoling her mother is, in fact, a hallucination. Stephanie has drowned, hence the fact that she is seen in her bathing suit throughout the film. Her body is in the trunk of her mother's car. And, to punish herself for the fact that she was making love to her husband while her daughter drowned, Dawn let the crooked cop use her as a sex toy. It's only when she is reunited with her husband, that her daughter "disappears" and she is forced to confront reality, her hideous sense of guilt, and the insanity of profound grief. There is so much going on here that Dawn's behavior seems incomprehensible until you've processed the entire film. Once you have, though, it becomes clear that this film is intriguing and fascinating on many levels. And, that it will probably only appeal to those of a certain age who have experienced deep love, horrible loss, and days where you feel yourself losing a grip on your sanity.

• Intriguing, but Implausible.

  bmco-247-7210252019-02-04

  The previews and reviews for this film had me expecting a thriller with a woman and her young daughter on the run from someone. Indeed, the film starts out in that fashion, however as the story evolves you realize the mystery is more complex and this film is not your traditional chase movie. The backstory isn't really explained in detail until nearly the last 20 minutes of the film, but perplexing inconsistencies in some of the story sequences will lead most viewers to start piecing together the dark interaction between Dawn and her daughter. Having figured this out, the director keeps you hooked by keeping the reason for Dawn's flight hidden from viewers until nearly the very end. In one sense this is a compelling enough reason to watch the film through to the end, which is obviously what the director intended. The disappointment though, is that in many instances I found the behavior exhibited by various characters including Dawn to be unrealistic. In just one example, Dawn has a sexual episode that given all of the circumstances, struck me as totally improbable. This use of artistic license may appeal to some, but if at the end of the day you are sitting there thinking, "well that would never happen," then it spoils the story at least for me.

• Nothing as the review says

  sreeragmeppadath2019-04-13

  Just some moral stuff for kids.A girl who gets trapped by diseobyeing her mother and consequences.Just because its tragic does not mean it's great

• Suspenseful plot of a woman dealing with a tragedy in the wrong way.

  andrew-pena-12017-08-26

  SPOILER BE HERE!! Traditional suspense with an ongoing mystery to accompany. Set in Australia, the main actor (Dawn) is on the run with her 13 year old daughter. After the opening scene of Dawn attacking an older man in his home, she then begins to flee with her daughter. While on the lam, she takes precautions to keep her whereabouts secret...no credit cards to track, no explanation of her evasive actions. Shortly after, we are introduced to an ex-cop looking for her. We learn in the last half of the movie that he is her ex-husband as her daughter calls out to him as her father. It's not clear why she is on the run, no indication of a crime she did but we are focused a few times on the trunk of her car. The contents are revealed after the husband catches up with her and appear to get back together. Together, they open the trunk and it's finally revealed the body of a young girl, we presume their other daughter, whom died by an accidental drowning. Coming to terms with the reality, both Dawn and her husband accept the tragedy and seal acceptance with a little make up sex. It's also important to note that during the search for Dawn, she meets an outback police officer who purposely does not ask many questions, clearly because he too, has a need for sex. persistent on several occasions, she obliges but sets her own limits. The acting by Dawn was actually decent. Her physical appearance and ability to show appropriate fear and emotion played well into her role. My take on her is that she uses sex as an escape in lieu of drugs. The drowning of her other child was too much for her to handle and her let out was to bed with whomever was available at the time. That said, the final sex scene appeared to be a genuine act of her life back on track with her husband. Especially since she had him there to help deal with the drowning.