Winter of our Dreams

1981

Johnny's comments:

Winter Of Our Dreams is a 1981 drama where two people become linked to one another after the death of a mutual friend. Kings Cross prostitute Lou (Judy Davis) is the last person to see her friend Lisa (Margie McCrae) before she killed herself, before which she gave Lou her guitar and diary. Before she died, Lisa called book shop owner/writer Rob (Bryan Brown), her former boyfriend, but he didn't get to the phone in time. He hears about her death on the news and investigates her last moments where he comes into contact with Lou. Lou is reluctant to talk to him but, after having issues at where she is squatting with street kid Pete (Baz Luhrmann, yep the director Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Australia etc.), she calls Rob who lets her stay in his home where he lives in a open relationship with his wife Gretel (Cathy Downes). Lou is drawn to Rob but he's not really interested in her in that way, more interested in finding out more about what happened to Lisa. Lou starts reading Lou's diary and after running out of places to stay, Lou comes back to Rob and begins withdrawing from heroin in an attempt to clean up her life, thinking that maybe Rob can be a part of her life but going straight isn't easy and she seems to be making the same mistakes with Rob as ones she reads in Lisa's diary.

Solid drama from director John Duigan (Sirens, The Year My Voice Broke, Mouth To Mouth, Flirting, Careless Love, One Night Stand with Cassandra Delaney) with strong lead performances from Davis and Brown. The movie feels very much like one of those early 80s Sydney dramas where everything is hopeless, like The Killing Of Angel Street, Heatwave and Dead Easy, but it is probably closer in style and plot to the Melbourne-set but Sydney-filmed Monkey Grip. There isn't much to the story but Davis and Brown make it work.

Cathy Downes film clip (collage below)

Judy Davis film clip (collages below)

unidentified film clip (sample below)