The Inland Road

2017, 1080hd

The Inland Road is a 2017 drama where 16 year-old Maori girl Tia (Gloria Popata) runs away from home after a bust up with her mother and hitches a ride with Will (British actor David Elliot) and his brother-in-law Matt but they have an accident where Matt dies and Tia ends up in hospital with large scars. She has a bust-up with her father, who sees a tattoo on her neck and tells her that she can't stay with him. So Tia goes to Matt's funeral and ends up staying with Will and his heavily pregnant wife Donna's (Chelsie Preston Crayford) house in their barn because they are renovating. Things get off to a rocky start when Tia starts shooting at possums that are annoying her in the middle of the night. Donna wants her out but Will puts his foot down and says that she can stay indefinitely because of the accident. Matt's widow May (Jodie Hillock) is struggling and after a dinner goes poorly, Donna and Will offer to look after May's daughter Lily as she mourns and recovers with her parents. Tia helps out around the farm and with Lily and starts to take a liking to Will which Donna is very suspicious of, particularly after they get stuck a fair way from home with a flat tyre and have to stay the night in the car. And rightfully so too as Tia kisses Will but he does not reciprocate. Tia then attempts to seduce Will and Donna catches her but instead of chewing her out, Donna tells her that she needs to go home and Tia tells her why she had to leave including why she got the tattoo.

Not bad drama. Not a lot happens, but at 75 minutes of running time, it doesn't muck around and the movie is fairly watchable. I kept wondering why Tia was allowed to stay so long but the story is given an unexpectedly satisfactory ending that works surprisingly well considering where it could've gone. Newcomer Gloria Popata is quite good and is helped by given a well-written role. I think having limited experience probably helped her play a troubled outsider with a misguided innocence that gets her into that trouble. Interestingly, it is written and directed by Jackie Van Beek, far better known for comedy including the movie The Breaker Upperers and this a rapid departure from what she usually does. No comedy in this movie.

Chelsie Preston-Crayford film clip (minimal exposure, sample below)