Stanley Kramer’s 1959 movie version of “On the Beach” starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner has been heralded as one of the most influential anti-nuclear films ever made. But even with its modern setting and mildly plausible scenario, Showtime’s update lacks raison d’tre. Although generally well acted and cleverly adapted by David Williamson from the screenplay by John Paxton and the 1957 novel by Nevil Shute, pic never adequately regenerates the fear that gripped the nation during the cold war. Still, Williamson, who penned the screenplays for “Gallipoli” and “The Year of Living Dangerously,” does manage to remain faithful to the original intent of Shute’s book, which is to convey the range of emotions that fill the day-to-day existence of people awaiting the end of the world.
“On the Beach,” which Showtime is calling a mini, airs in two parts with a brief intermission. Story begins after the bombs have been dropped, brushing over the details in figuring that no reason could possibly sound rational enough. This we know: The U.S. and China are to blame, and as a result, most of the globe is in ruins. Australia is the last refuge, but it’s only a matter of months before radioactive fallout envelops the continent.
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A lone American submarine commanded by Dwight Towers (Armand Assante) heads for Melbourne, where many hold out hope because of a faint radio message from Anchorage, Alaska, which reads “don’t despair.”
Russell Mulcahy, who directed “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the first video to ever air on MTV, as well as the first two “Highlander” movies, relies heavily on his savvy visual style to propel what is essentially a love story.
Towers is recruited to head a team to find the source of the radio transmission, but he and team member and scientist Julian Osborne (Bryan Brown) lock horns over the sultry Moira Davidson (Rachel Ward). Moira is the sister-in-law of Towers’ Australian liaison Peter Holmes (Grant Bowler), but also happens to be Osborne’s ex.
The love triangle between Towers, Moira and Osborne, as well as the relationship between Holmes and his wife Mary (Jacqueline McKenzie) and their young daughter Jenny (Allison and Tieghan Webber) pointedly asks, when faced with certain death, how would you spend your last days?
At times, the answer is heartbreaking, but mostly it’s exhausting. There’s no real tension or suspense here, but plenty of palpable despair. Assante, while no Gregory Peck, certainly outdoes the veteran actor in range of emotion. Assante’s Towers is tortured yet soft, and makes a nice accompaniment to Ward’s cynical Moira. Ward is an inspired choice in the Ava Gardner role, bring a lusty and boozy quality to the character. The googley-eyed Brown, as Osborne, gets to play the character who has the most realistic doomsday reaction, and he performs it with gusto.
Martin McGrath’s often hallucinatory images instill the pic with a sense of urgency and dread while capturing achingly beautiful shots of Australia. Tapes reviewed lacked final sound and music, but other technical credits, including special effects, are well conceived.
