There is something hypnotic and mesmerizing about this New Zealand directorial debut from director Jeffs.  It's an intense film about a couple whose marriage and family is slowly dissolving while at the same time their teenage daughter Janey is going thru a sexual awakening.  The movie moves at a very deliberate pace (meaning very slow here.)  However, I will say that this slow pace allows us to not only get to know all the characters but to also understand their motives and actions which lead to the events which unfold.  It's not just your usual coming of age story, but the story of a family whose once ideal life is about to be shattered.

      The film takes place in the 70's during the summer on a beach in New Zealand.  At first everything seems to be perfect, the married couple have many parties with many friends on the beach and their teenage daughter, Janey, spends the days teaching her younger brother Jim how to swim.  At night, the two children listen to the people who attend their parties and observe the things which go on such as guests going skinny-dipping in the ocean.  However, we soon see the foreshadowing of bad things to come.  The mother mopes around the house all day getting drunk or recovering from the hangover from the previous night.  The father spends his time mowing the grass or fishing with the children.  But the silence between husband and wife is deafening and they avoid their problems by ignoring each other.  Meanwhile, Janey is noticing that things are not going well between her parents and suspects that her mother is having an affair with a handsome younger man named Cady who lives on a boat.  Janey begins to compete with her mother for the attention of this man while more catastrophic events await to happen.

      The haunting aspect of this film makes the audience crave for what is going to happen and how the developing problems are going to be resolved.  However, the eventual resolutions are not that dramatic or surprising, save one unnecessary shocker event at the end.  I have sorta mixed feelings about this as I was hooked on the story and the characters, but it seemed that something was missing from this dreamy, picturesque film, the same way I felt while watching The Virgin Suicides.  But the attraction of Cady to both mother and daughter is shown realistically and is very believable.  He represents sexual attraction as well as comfort and innocence which both Janey and her mother are attracted to.

      The main strength in this film is the acting.  The acting of both mother and father playing people who are involved in a boring and disengaging marriage is so believable that you feel their pain while watching them.  And Fulford-Wierzbicki as Janey puts in an astonishing performance as the teenage girl who thinks she is many years older than her actual age.  Just her stares and looks while certain events are unfolding made me not want to take my eyes off of her.  The cinematography and the beach locale also make this film very interesting to watch.

      This is a good film, only missing a more dramatic and eventful conclusion.  And I'm not forgetting about the shocking event which comes at the end of the film, I'm talking about a more dramatic and fulfilling resolution to the plight of this family.   Some will find this film most rewarding and hypnotic, while others may find it a complete bore