We keep hearing that the Australian film industry is in the doldrums.... Well, "Healing" will restore your faith in its health.

Excellent cinematography, good music, a good script and some really fine performances, particularly from the three male leads, Hugo Weaving, Don Hany and Xavier Samuel. But every performance in this film is good, and Jane Menelaus is so convincing as the Sanctuary's Raptor Expert that one could believe that is her day job. And Yasmine the wedge-tailed eagle, plus some very cute owls, nearly steal the show. Another star of the show is atmospheric shots of the beautiful scenery.

The movie takes a leisurely pace, but this is absolutely fitting to parallel the slow rate of healing for all of these damaged animal and human characters. It also reflects the slow routine of the prisoners' lives.

Some critics have called this film too predictable in its outcome, but if things come out well for the characters we care about, what's wrong with that? It's nice to have that happen occasionally!

Definitely the highlight Australian film of the year for me!

Right from the very first scene I knew this was going to be a special type of prison film. Mother nature in all her glory, a bird of prey elegantly gliding through the air in pursuit of its target, then bam! Trapped in a fence, cut to a prison van, a prisoner menacingly staring down a frightened young man, himself trapped, but a wise old bird of years and years of incarceration experience sidles up alongside the youngster, about to take him under his protective wing. The healing of the title begins, for man, boy and creatures, a metaphor heavy narrative that thankfully is beautifully written and portrayed.

Directed by Craig Monahan, who also co-writes the screenplay with Alison Nisselle, this Australian film stars Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel and Mark Leonard Winter. Music is by David Hirschfelder and cinematography by Andrew Lesnie. Story follows a small group of prisoners working in a penal system approved rehabilitation of injured birds of prey programme. But outside of this harmonious circle lay differing problems, bully boy cons trying to muscle in with their poison, and then there is serrated family ties outside the prison gates that seem impossible to be healed...

Throughout the pic there are broken beings, inmates, creatures and wardens, all in need of redemption or a restart in life. There's a lot going in the story as such, but it all makes for a gratifying whole because the makers have taken their time to build the characters. Tech credits are excellent, with the performances of the lead actors leading from the front. Weaving giving high end professionalism as the emotionally troubled main guard is something of a given, while Samuel (The Loved Ones) looks like he is about to build himself a worthwhile career.

The film, however, in human form belongs to Hany, who gets the plum role of Iranian Viktor Khadem, the old lag who is the centre of the story. His accent sometimes sounds more South African than Iranian, but his ability to say so much with pained visual ticks and a becalmed delivery of crucial dialogue really cements the heart of the story's worth.

Elsewhere, Lesnie's wide angled photography does justice to the surroundings when the story goes outside of the prison walls into the outback, and of course the grace of the birds is given appropriate splendour. Which leads to bird trainer Andrew Payne, who along with editor Suresh Ayya, deserves a mighty pat on the back for ensuring that Healing is beating a true heart from all standpoints.

This is a lovely film waiting to be discovered by grown ups who are able to get involved with the thematic beats of the story and accept its deliberate pacing in the process. 8/10

An amiable, well filmed, yet unfulfilled Australian movie, Craig Monahan's Healing is an easy to like but strangely cold drama that continues on the modern day trend of local movies failing to reach their potential, and in this case failing to do so despite a very rounded and experienced cast.

Healing should've provided meaty roles to some of Australia's most experienced talent (Hugo Weaving),underrated talent (Don Hany from TV's East West 101),up and coming talent (Xavier Samuel) and renowned supporting talent (Anthony Hayes) yet Monahan as writer/director doesn't illicit enough emotional heft to make audience members care and in turn be affected by the plight of these men. Weaving by far comes off best as kind and caring prison officer Matt Perry while Hany can't quite grasp the accent or the pent up rage of lead Viktor Khadem while Samuel and Hayes are wasted on stereotypical prison inmates in the form of young inmate Paul and prison kingpin Warren respectively. Monahan can also be blamed for failing to capitalise on his metaphorical story of inwardly healing with the films central story conceit.

Around the story of these troubled men is the fact inmates lead by Khadem have been charged with the provision of a bird sanctuary in which birds of prey are nursed back to health and subsequently released back into the wild – no guesses in what the birds represent. This story plight feels sadly underutilised and much like many plot developments within the film, wholly unneeded. Moments within the film showcasing Mark Leonard Winter's (who perhaps steals the movie in an acting sense) Shane attending his brother's funeral or Weaving's Matt dealing with the death of his young daughter all feel like side parts that play no real meaningful stepping stone in an unfocused story.

Monahan has made one of Australia's greatest ever dramas in the form of his 1998 Hugo Weaving starring The Interview and in the time following has only made the disappointing Peaches and now this equally mediocre Healing, which is a shame considering his obvious talent. Healing is a hard film to hate thanks to its commendable intentions yet a hard film to love thanks to its mismanaged final product. Better than most Australian films of recent times, yet sadly that's not much of an achievement. Disappointingly forgettable, Healing never soars to the heights it so easily could've reached with the talent on hand.

2 Eagle helmets out of 5

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