LONG WEEKEND
Australia, 1978, 90 minutes, Colour.
John Hargreaves, Briony Behets.
Directed by Colin Eggleston.
Long Weekend is a local contribution to the animal menace genre and a good example of its kind - Panavision, N.S.W. south coast locations, beautiful and eerie, a bickering couple (with strong anti-abortion overtones) with selfish, careless attitudes towards nature and environment being threatened, malevolently warned and then victimised by Nature. Suspense is well generated as the weekend wears on. A plus is the plot's skill in showing us that there could be explanations of each scare, implying that the growing ominous fear is quite plausible. John Hargreaves and Briony Behets do well as the average couple whose unpleasantness with which audiences can easily identify, is their downfall. Only a thriller - but well done.
1. The tone of the title, holiday, the irony?
2. The importance of colour, bush location photography, the contrast with the city opening, the animals and the flora and fauna of Australia? Use of Panavision for the communication of beauty, terror? The musical score, the suggestion of menace? The contribution of the special effects, the lighting? The editing for menace, suspense, pacing and shock?
3. How well did the film communicate an atmosphere of suspense, the feel for the Australian bush, its terror and menace, the humans experiencing the isolation of the bush and its unknown, sights, sounds? The impact of the shocks? The communication of fear? The feeling and the visuals and sounds of fear?
4. The importance of the initial ordinary setting, the audience identifying with place, with people, occupations? Looking forward to a holiday and a long weekend? Peter in town, driving, the freeway? The radio broadcasts, television? The ordinary situations, news, disasters? Marcia at home, eerie happenings in the house? The telephone call and the communication with her friends - indication of the plans for the weekend? The cars, the collision? Ordinary language, swearing etc.? The creating of an atmosphere of two ordinary Australians going on a holiday?
5. The importance of the tensions? Peter and his very Australian attitudes? His neglect of his wife, not talking to her, her not talking to her, her not talking to him? His taking over the holiday plans without consulting her? The build-up of the bickering? The indications of the possibilities for their loving one another again, of breaking up? The indications of the abortion situation? The later revelation of what had happened? Their friendships with the couple and Marcia's affairs? Marcia's strength, Peter's weakness? The mutual love, the mutual despising? The importance of the love scenes and the sensuality? Marcia's unwillingness to make love to Peter? Yet her concern, especially when he was in the water and she had premonitions about disaster? Marcia's guilt and the visuals of this? The edge in the conversation? As indicated with their treatment of the dog, the one-upmanship, the strong arguments, the issues about which they argued? The film as a well told story of ordinary human tensions?
6. The tensions within the holiday situation? The edge that each of them had, the repercussions on their behaviour? The repercussions in nature? The build-up of indications that this would be a disastrous long weekend? Hitting the car at home, the trip towards the holiday place, the darkness, the roads, the squabbles about the cassettes, the almost collisions, the hitting of the kangaroo, the tensions in the cafe and people watching, getting lost on the track and the arrow sending them in circles, feeling lost, the darkness of the night, the traffic lights on the bush etc.?
7. The build-up of menace especially as regards nature and the animals - the changing of the tyre and the thunder and lightening, the dead kangaroo and its fur on the car, the previous talk on the television about the galahs attacking people, camping at night, the dogs and the sounds, the sudden going off of the arrow, the danger in the swimming?
8. The three-day structure and its build-up? The audience sharing the anticipation of menace and disaster as each day came? The contrast of daylight and finding the beach and its beauty, the campsite, Peter setting up everything in order, the luxuries that they had for camping, the walks, the swimming, sunbaking? Seeing the other car? The possibility of settling for an enjoyable holiday?
9. The build-up of the incidents especially with the animals - the dugong present during the swimming, the shooting of the dugong and its coming up on the shore and its not dying, its coming out of the sand, Peter's final killing of it? The eagle attacking Peter? The chook thawing and then going rotten, the breaking of the egg? The playing with the possum and its biting? The behaviour of the dogs, the dog snarling in the tent of the other people, spiders and webs? The build-up to Marcia driving through the night in terror and insects and birds crashing on the windscreen? Peter sitting up all night with the sounds of nature the dog barking? The fear in darkness and isolation within nature?
10. The themes of ecology and littering? The mod cons, the $2000's worth of camping gear, the cars, pollution, artificial foods, the use of batteries, cigarettes and stubs and fire, drinking and bottles, the littering, the shooting for the sake of shooting? The relationship of this kind of littering and destroying of nature with the more serious theme of the destroying of human life and the abortion? How important were the abortion issues within this context of life and destruction? How clearly were the issues put?
11. The character of Peter - ordinary middle-aged man. the ocker type, his selfishness. his issues with the dog love and lack of love for Marcia, his selfish behaviour? The possibility of reconciliation? The impact of his killing his wife? His being lost? The inevitability of his death?
12. The character of Marcia - a city woman, not being able to rough it, her brooding about the abortion. her fears fear of sensual contact with her husband, fear for his life. the bickering and the clashes, her fears and wanting to return her shrewdness in discovering how the battery worked, her taking the car. her terror the understated presentation of her death?
13. The decision to go or not, the clashes and its build-up, the other car and the searching for the other family.. seeing the car under water and the people dead, ,the dugong, the dog, the night flight to death?
14. The build-up of suspense as Peter stayed by the fire.. the sounds, the sights, the running, the irony of the bird distracting the driver and Peter's death?
15. The atmosphere of mystery? How overstated was the film how understated? The audience experiencing the puzzle and the mystery and so the message being communicated?
