Starring Ralph Fiennes, Kate Blanchett, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson. Narrated by Geoffrey Rush. Directed by Gillian Armstrong.
Oscar lives in a small hamlet on the coast of England with his widower father, a minister in the very strict Plymouth Brethren faith, which believes that the celebration of Christmas and Christmas pudding is the work of Satan. Lucinda lives with her grandmother in the Australian countryside, after her parents have died. She struggles to forge an independent path, "a square peg in a landscape of round holes". She loves the water, floating rapturously for hours.
In his teens, Oscar senses a call to the ministry. The only problem is its to the Anglican church, led locally by his father's rival (Wilkinson), who is eager to sponsor Oscar (Fiennes) in theological studies in Sydney. It breaks his father's heart. Lucinda's grandmother's house is sold, and Lucinda (Blanchett) gets the proceeds. She takes a boat to Sydney, and spots an old glass works company for sale. She meets a stuffy Anglican minister (Hinds) who dabbles in producing fancy and cutting edge glass products. Lucinda buys the glass works, and quickly becomes a success.
While in the seminary, a friend takes Oscar to the horse races, and he wins his first bet. Soon he is betting regularly, meticulously keeping track of the horses and his winnings. And Oscar wins regularly. But he gives the vast majority of his winnings to the poor, leaving himself with not enough money to even properly clothe himself. His habit becomes compulsive - he'll even bet on cock fights and coin flips. Lucinda starts gambling at cards with her accountant and other employees, hiding her activities from her minister partner. But eventually a scandal erupts, and he takes a parish in a small Australian town up the coast.
On a boat trip from England, Oscar meets Lucinda. He is deathly afraid of the water, hiding out in the interior of the ship. She meets him for confession, and confesses she loves to gamble. Oscar giggles at his discovery, and then deals the cards. They become fast friends, spending much of the trip happily playing cards. Oscar takes a local parish, and later meets up again with Lucinda. After Lucinda spends a night with Oscar playing cards in his home, Oscar is run out of his parish. Lucinda takes him in, and they come with the idea of building a glass church for her minister friend. Oscar takes the trip by land, and by river, floating the completed glass church into the town harbour.
Based on the Booker prize winning novel by Peter Carey, the story is a whimsical story of two misfits in 19th century Australia, who meet and become soulmates. Oscar is anxious, naive and idealistic, and Fiennes, unlike Elvis Stoyko, gets in touch with his feminine side, playing Oscar with abandon as a sensitive loner with lots of nervous ticks and mannerisms. It is a unique, and mostly successful performance. Blanchett enthusiastically plays Lucinda as an earthy, spunky woman who refuses to follow society's rules of behaviour. Beautifully photographed, poetically told and backed by a dreamy soundtrack, the film contains several magical scenes. In their first meeting playing cards, they display a cathartic release in finding soulmates who share the same passion. The site of the glass church floating down the river is beautiful and haunting. The main problem is that the film seriously drags in spots. But overall, its a unique and interesting film displaying the magic of two characters in a world that does not understand them, finding refuge in one another.
