Thank God He Met Lizzie Review

Thank God He Met Lizzie is not about the hit and miss aspect of contemporary relationships, it`s about the miss and miss. Alexandra Long`s screenplay charts the romantic history of Guy - Richard Roxburgh - whom we meet first as a bit of a nerd. He`s between relationships - it`s over with Jenny - Frances O`Connor - and he`s just about to meet and fall in love with Lizzie - Cate Blanchett. Six weeks later he finds himself stuffed into a morning suit in front of a priest. And he`s a happy man, but at the wedding reception his mind flashes back to the times he had with Jenny... What`s terrific about Cherie Nowlan`s first feature film as director is the emotional territory it charts and the performances. They are all splendid, with Frances O`Connor once again a standout, but she has a character that`s much more fleshed out than either Guy or Lizzy. This film follows in the tradition of Australian grotesque, there`s just that larger then life flavour to both Lizzie`s family and Jenny`s. In the midst of all the fuss is Guy, a character who`s actually quite hard to fathom, so he`s difficult to connect with. It`s a film that takes a cynical swipe at the way in which people form relationships, not just with Guy - we get a fair sampling from the wedding guests too. But it`s loads of fun and provokes some pretty interesting conversations afterwards.